AACP Admissions Workshop
Understanding ACPE Standards and Guidelines Pertaining to Admissions
Robert Beardsley, PhD
University of Maryland School of Pharmacy
President, ACPE Board of Directors
J. Gregory Boyer, PhD
ACPE Executive Assistant Director, and
Director, Professional Degree Program Accreditation
Objectives To provide an overview of the ACPE Standards and
Guidelines that pertains to admissions
To emphasize the importance of sound admissions
processes to assure the quality of pharmacy education
To receive feedback from admissions officers regarding current and future standards
Key Issues Related to Admissions Quality of pharmacy education starts here Recruitment
Attracting a solid applicant pool
Use of social media, websites
Confusion over new schools Admissions process
Interviewing processes
Involvement of students, preceptors, alumni
Role of Standards/Guidelines Built on past experiences to assure quality
Set expectations for colleges and schools based on peer practices
Relevant Standards and Guidelines
Organization of Student Services (Std16)
Importance of competent admissions staff and appropriate oversight of admission processes
Need strong relationships with financial aid personnel and other university student affairs staff
Need for clearly articulated technical standards
Most common issues with this standard
Admission Criteria, Policies, and Procedures (Std 17)
Most relevant standard to admissions; the heart of quality in the admissions area
Standards and Guidelines provide a roadmap for establishing quality
Most common issues with this standard
Transfer and Waiver of Credit (Std 18)
Not an issue for many programs
However, can be problematic if not clearly communicated to transfer students or administered inconsistently
Most common issues with this standard
Program Information (Std 21)
A key component to effective and truthful recruitment
Accurate information must be disseminated to prospective students
Most common issues with this standard
Issues Facing the Academy
Maintaining quality when applicant pool numbers decline
Identifying correlations between admissions characteristics and student learning outcomes
Addressing increasing interests of those with non-US training in US enrollment with advanced standing or post-BS PharmD
Impact of competition for most academically qualified minority students
Impact of varying preprofessional requirements
Standards Revision Process Collect feedback from Stakeholders (Jan-May 2013)
Revise documents (May-Dec 2013)
Draft documents approved by Board (Jan 2014)
Documents distributed to Stakeholders; hearings held at various venues (Jan-July 2014)
Continued revision of documents (Aug-Dec 2014)
Standards Revision Process (cont) Final documents approved by Board and timeline for
implementation established (Jan 2015)
Documents distributed to Stakeholders (Feb 2015)
Changes made to AAMS; training of site teams and other activities (Feb 2015 – Aug 2016)
Anticipated date for use of new standards (Fall 2016)
Comments and Questions from Workshop Participants