The USF College of Pharmacy earned its first full accreditation July 8 from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), marking a huge milestone for the young school and validating the innovative education experience offered to USF pharmacy students. In addition, the ACPE recognized the College’s interprofessional endeavors and will send a commendation to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy as an example of noteworthy practice.
Dr. Kevin Sneed presents the good news to College of Pharmacy faculty.
“This is the best news and our entire team of faculty, staff and students is thrilled,” said Kevin B. Sneed, PharmD, professor, senior associate vice president for USF Health, and founding dean of the USF College of Pharmacy.
“Such resounding approval confirms what we’ve all known about the program we are building and is the culmination of a lot of hard work.”
The ACPE granted the USF College of Pharmacy with full accreditation until June 30, 2017, the customary two-year term for a new program. As part of the accreditation process, the College was measured across 30 standards for providing a strong program, including planning and evaluation, administration and governance, curriculum, student support, faculty and staff, and facilities and resources.
The ACPE found the USF College of Pharmacy to be compliant in all 30 areas, and will require the college to submit a progress report prior to the next ACPE visit in 2017. Following a successful focused on-site evaluation then, continuation of accreditation would follow.
The USF College of Pharmacy was established by the Florida Board of Governors in 2009 and graduated its charter class in May 2015. Dr. Sneed said that, from the start, he and his faculty set out to build an innovative program that would be a pacesetter in both pharmacy curriculum and clinical experience. Since opening to the charter class of 53 students, the College of Pharmacy steadily progressed with key accreditation milestones, including an initial accreditation from ACPE in 2011 that cleared the program for starting classes, and candidate accreditation status in 2012.
“Students across our first four years are pioneers and are to be commended and thanked for helping make this accreditation happen,” Dr. Sneed said. “Because of them, the next generation of students will enter an even stronger program, built on a new model of patient-centered care in which pharmacists are an integral part of a patient’s health care team.”
Already a strong contender for attracting Florida’s best pharmacy students, the USF College of Pharmacy’s appeal will grow with this positive accreditation, Dr. Sneed said.
“We’ve become a much sought-after program, a destination for an amazing pharmacy program.”
Photos by Eric Younghans, USF Health Office of Communications
