The Purpose Behind Our Interest in International Accreditation

ACPE’s mission is to "assure and advance quality in pharmacy education." While its primary focus, and the majority of its activity and effort will always be in the USA, ACPE believes that, in order to achieve this vision and fulfill its mission, it also needs to be involved beyond its borders. ACPE believes that it can both contribute to, and learn from, experiences and initiatives in other countries. ACPE recognizes the benefits derived from monitoring and influencing global trends and developments within the profession of pharmacy, within education generally, and specifically in the areas of quality assurance and quality improvement of pharmacy education.

On a regular basis, ACPE receives requests for assistance from countries wishing to develop or enhance their own systems for the quality assurance of pharmacy education – both for degree programs and for continuing pharmacy education. Some countries have subsequently utilized ACPE’s system of accreditation and standards as the basis for the introduction or development of their own quality assurance systems. A number of countries are considering or planning a transition to a US-style PharmD, and have sought ACPE’s advice and guidance in this regard.

ACPE enjoys a close working relationship with its counterpart agency in Canada, the Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs (CCAPP). ACPE’s assistance was sought when CCAPP was established in 1993, and the Canadian standards for the entry-level pharmacy degree are based on ACPE’s PharmD standards. In June 2002, ACPE’s Board of Directors recognized the accreditation decisions (pdf, 32 KB / word, 1.2 MB) taken by CCAPP since its inception in 1993 through June 2004, the expiry date for ACPE’s BS standards. In October 2002, ACPE and CCAPP signed a Memorandum of Understanding (pdf, 180 KB) signifying their commitment to future collaboration. In line with the decision to adopt the PharmD as the sole accredited professional degree in the US, in June 2004, the ACPE Board resolved not to extend the recognition of the CCAPP accreditation decisions beyond June 30, 2004.

ACPE has hosted visitors from around the world, and has provided assistance to many countries in their efforts to establish or develop their own quality assurance systems for pharmacy education. These include Canada, Japan, Portugal, Korea and South Africa, to name a few.

ACPE also desires to promote information exchange among organizations and agencies involved in the quality assurance of pharmacy education. Over the past few years, in conjunction with the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), ACPE has led an initiative to establish an International Forum for the Quality Assurance of Pharmacy Education. Three meetings of the Forum have been held – in Singapore (2001), in Nice, France (2002), Sydney, Australia (2003),New Orleans, Louisiana, USA (2004), Cairo, Egypt (2005), and Salvador Bahia, Brazil (2006). The next meeting of the Forum is scheduled for Beijing, China in September 2007. Over 250 people from nearly 60 countries, regional and international organizations, are now involved in the Forum.