Accreditation is the public recognition accorded a professional program that is judged to meet established qualifications and educational standards through initial and subsequent periodic evaluations. Accreditation applies to professional programs and is distinguished from certification or licensure, which applies to individuals.

Accreditation standards reflect professional and educational qualities identified by ACPE as essential to quality professional programs of Colleges and Schools of Pharmacy and serve as the basis for program evaluation. Standards are set by ACPE in accordance with a procedure which provides adequate time and opportunity for all parties significantly affected by the accreditation process to comment on such standards prior to their adoption. Advance notice is given whenever revision of standards is proposed by ACPE. The initial standards were published in 1937 and revisions have been effected on the average, every seven years, in keeping with changes in pharmacy education and practice. New Accreditation standards and guidelines were adopted June 14, 1997. The revision process leading to Accreditation Standards and Guidelines for the Professional Program in Pharmacy Leading to the Doctor of Pharmacy Degree was initiated in September 1989 and conducted in accord with the Procedure and Schedule for the Revision of Accreditation Standards and Guidelines , issued January 7, 1990. This Procedure and Schedule involved a step-wise, decade-long process. The early years were devoted to study and formation of proposed revisions and the later years provided for two comment periods, each affording open hearings and opportunities to submit written comments. Final consideration of the last iteration of proposed revisions, Proposed Revision, January 15, 1996 , was given during the June 1997 meeting of ACPE. The Accreditation Standards and Guidelines for the Professional Program in Pharmacy Leading to the Doctor of Pharmacy Degree were adopted June 14, 1997.

ACPE publishes the Directory of Accredited Professional Programs of Colleges and Schools of Pharmacy, which presents the accreditation status of each professional program as well as the academic year of the most recent review or consideration of accreditation, and the academic year for the next currently scheduled review or consideration of accreditation.

A professional program is evaluated on the extent to which it accomplishes its stated goals and is consistent with the concept that pharmacy is a unique, personal service profession in the health science field. In the application of these standards, literal conformity in every detail is not required. Variations are to be expected, and superiority in certain qualities may compensate, at least in part, for deficiencies in others. Many college and school programs exceed ACPE standards in one or more of the various elements comprising accreditation. In pharmacy education, as in American education generally, there is diversity. In this diversity there is potential strength. The accreditation process, therefore, seeks to maximize potential strengths while assuring basic expectations for quality pharmacy education.

The essential purpose of the accreditation process is to provide a professional judgment of the quality of a college or school of pharmacy's professional program(s) and to encourage continued improvement thereof. Accreditation concerns itself with both quality assurance and quality enhancement. The responsibilities of the ACPE's accreditation program are:

1. To advance the standards of pharmacy education in the United States and associated commonwealths.

2. To formulate the educational, scientific and professional principles and standards for professional programs in pharmacy which a college or school of pharmacy is expected to meet and maintain for accreditation of its programs, and to revise these principles and standards when deemed necessary or advisable.

3. To formulate policies and procedures for the accreditation process.4. To evaluate the professional program(s) of any college or school of pharmacy within or beyond its national geographic scope that requests accreditation of its program(s).

5. To publish a directory of accredited professional programs of colleges and schools of pharmacy for the use of state boards of pharmacy or appropriate state licensing agencies in pharmacy, other interested agencies, and the public, and to revise such directory annually or as frequently as deemed desirable.

6. To provide assurances to constituencies that the professional programs which have been accredited continue to comply with standards, and therefore to conduct periodic evaluations in a manner similar to that for original accreditation.

7. To assist the advancement and improvement of pharmacy education as well as prerequisites and procedures for licensure and to provide a basis for inter-institutional relationships.

Accreditation of professional degree programs in pharmacy provides a national basis for quality assurance. In so doing, the accreditation process serves multiple constituencies:

For boards of pharmacy, accreditation provides a reliable basis for decision-making with regard to licensure.

For the public, accreditation assures conformity to general expectations of the profession and identification of colleges and schools of pharmacy which have explicitly undertaken activities directed at improving the quality of their professional programs, and are carrying them out successfully. Accreditation also assures improvement in the professional services available to the general public in that accredited programs are expected to modify their requirements to reflect advances in knowledge and practice.

For students and prospective students, accreditation assists in the transfer of credits among institutions and provides an assurance that a program has been found to provide satisfactory educational preparation for licensure and practice.

For institutions of higher education, accreditation provides a framework for self-evaluation and improvement as well as opportunity for external review and counsel. Accreditation also provides a basis for the decision-making of private and public agencies, including the Department of Education, in the awarding of grants and loans.

For the profession, accreditation provides a means for practitioner participation in the setting of requirements for preparation to enter the profession.