Certification of Professional Degree Programs

ACPE ISP Quality Criteria may be voluntarily adopted by degree programs in pharmacy outside of the United States.

Certification Quality Criteria

International Quality Criteria for Certification of Professional Degree Programs in Pharmacy
Adopted: June 23, 2016; Released: July 1, 2016

Glossary

Glossary For ISP Certification and Precertification Documents

Policies and Procedures

The ACPE Board has adopted policies and procedures that apply to the Certification and Precertification of professional degree programs in pharmacy that are based outside the United States of America (USA) and its territories; namely, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands.

• Policies and Procedures for Certification and Precertification of Professional Degree Programs in Pharmacy in Countries other than the United States and its Territories (Adopted January 21, 2021; effective January 21, 2021)

• Memo Regarding Revised Policies and Procedures

• Guiding Principles for Policies and Procedures for Certification and Precertification

Application for Certification:

ACPE accepts applications for Certification for programs that are a minimum of four academic years in length.
A summary of the steps in the application process and associated documentation, forms, flowcharts, and timelines are available for download.

Guidance:

• Guidance for Submission of a Letter of Intent
• Eligibility Criteria
• Glossary For ISP Certification and Precertification Documents
• Threshold Rubric for Authorization of Initial On-Site Visit
• Documentation and Data Required for Self-Study Report for Certification of Professional Degree Program of Schools of Pharmacy based outside the United States of America (Version 3.0)
• Guidelines and Suggested Questions for On-Site Evaluations for Certification of Professional Degree Program of Schools of Pharmacy based outside the United States of America (September 2016 Version)

• Webinar: How to Complete Faculty (Academic Staff) Resource Report Template

• Guidelines for Preparing Electronic Documents for Submission (August 2018)

Forms and Templates

• Summary of Certification Application Steps and Required Documentation
  *Confirm with ACPE whether country-specific requirements are met. For schools located in Saudi Arabia, email Silvi Kastrati, for further information and additional guidance.
• Invitation to Evaluate
• Certification Application Flowchart
• Description of Pharmacy Practice (Criterion 1) (October 2013)
• Faculty (Academic Staff) List (Criterion 19) (September 2013)
• Faculty (Academic Staff) Profile (Criterion 19) (September 2013)
• Faculty (Academic Staff) Resource Report (Criterion 19) (December 2020)
• Faculty (Academic Staff) Resource Tables (Criterion 20) (September 2013)

• Evaluation Instrument for Certification of Professional Degree Program of Schools of Pharmacy based outside the United States of America (Version for Members of On-Site Evaluation Teams)

• Self-Assessment Instrument for Certification of Professional Degree Program of Schools of Pharmacy based outside the United States of America (Version for Schools/Colleges of Pharmacy)

Deadlines for Submission of Application for Certification*

• June 2022 Certification decision by the ACPE Board: Application Deadline Has Already Passed

• January 2023 Certification decision by the ACPE Board: Click Here to See Sample Timeline

• June 2023 Certification decision by the ACPE Board: Click Here to See Sample Timeline

Application for Precertification:

ACPE accepts applications for Precertification for programs that are a minimum of four academic years in length. A summary of the steps in the application process and associated documentation, forms, flowcharts, and timelines are available for download.

Guidance

• Guidance for Submission of a Letter of Intent
• Eligibility Criteria
• Glossary For ISP Certification and Precertification Documents
• Threshold Rubric for Authorization of Initial On-Site Visit
• Documentation and Data Required for Self-Study Report for Certification and Precertification of Professional Degree Program of Schools of Pharmacy based outside the United States of America (Version 3.0)
• Guidelines and Suggested Questions for On-Site Evaluations for Certification and Precertification of Professional Degree Program of Schools of Pharmacy based outside the United States of America (September 2016 Version)

• Webinar: How to Complete Faculty (Academic Staff) Resource Report Template

• Guidelines for Preparing Electronic Documents for Submission

Forms and Templates

• Summary of Certification Application Steps and Required Documentation
  *Confirm with ACPE whether country-specific requirements are met. For schools located in Saudi Arabia, email Silvi Kastrati, for further information and additional guidance.
• Invitation to Evaluate
• Precertification Application Flowchart: Currently not available
• Description of Pharmacy Practice (Criterion 1) (October 2013)
• Faculty (Academic Staff) List (Criterion 19) (September 2013)
• Faculty (Academic Staff) Profile (Criterion 19) (September 2013)
• Faculty (Academic Staff) Resource Report (Criterion 19) (December 2020)
• Faculty (Academic Staff) Resource Tables (Criterion 20) (September 2013)

• Evaluation Instrument for Precertification of Professional Degree Program of Schools of Pharmacy based outside the United States of America (Version for Members of On-Site Evaluation Teams)

• Self-Assessment Instrument for Precertification of Professional Degree Program of Schools of Pharmacy based outside the United States of America (Version for Schools/Colleges of Pharmacy) 

Deadlines for Submission of Application for Precertification

• June 2022 Precertification decision by the ACPE Board: Application Deadline Has Already Passed

• January 2023 Precertification decision by the ACPE Board: Click Here to See Sample Timeline

• June 2023 Precertification decision by the ACPE Board: Click Here to See Sample Timeline

Maintaining Certification:

Forms and Templates: 

• Invitation to Evaluate for Continuation of Certification

Interim Reports:

• Guidelines for Interim Reports during the Certification Term and Interim Reports for Two-Years Post-Certification Focused On-Site Evaluation (June 2017 version)
• Interim Report Template (January 2021)
• Interim Report Template for Two-Years Post-Certification Focused On-Site Evaluation (January 2021)

• Interim Report Template for Focused On-Site Evaluation (January 2021)

• Guidelines for Preparing Electronic Documents for Submission (August 2018)

Substantive Change(s) Reports:

• Substantive Change(s) Report Template (January 2021 version)

Annual Reporting:

• ACPE Policies and Procedures: Extract regarding Annual Reporting
• Enrollment Memo and Form
• Template: Faculty (Academic Staff) Resource Report (Criterion 19) (December 2020)

• Webinar: How to Complete Faculty (Academic Staff) Resource Report Template

Fees

The fee structure for ACPE international services and related resources are available below.

• 2021 Fee Schedule

• World Bank Data – Country Classifications (latest published data)

• For Estimated Total Fees for First Seven Years of Certification:

  Please contact ACPE

• For Estimated Fees for Future Years:

  Please contact ACPE

ACPE has a rich history of engagements and promoting information exchange internationally among organizations and agencies involved in the quality assurance of pharmacy education.

Hosting International Visitors

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. If you are interested in visiting ACPE, please e-mail ISP Director, Mike Rouse, at mrouse@acpe-accredit.org

• Future Meetings and Presentations

  • May 2021 International Commission Meeting: May 16-18, 2021 in Chicago, IL, USA
  • November 2021 International Commission Meeting: November 14-16, 2021 in Chicago, IL, USA
• Future Calls

  • International Commission Conference Call: None scheduled at this time.
• Guidelines for Logos and Marks
• ISP Proceedings and Reports

• ISP Annual Report (February 1, 2019 – January 31, 2020)

• ISP Newsletters
• ISP Press Releases
• ISP Presentations
• ISP Webinars

  • ISP Informational Webinar: None scheduled at this time.

• ISP Announcements

  • ACPE and CAA Virtual Signing Ceremony on December 7, 2020

Consultation

ACPE offers consultation in a broad range of areas related to quality assurance and advancement of pharmacy education, including:

• Professional degree programs in pharmacy
• Continuing pharmacy education/continuing professional development
• In-service training
• Credentialing
• QA systems/development of standards

Workshops

ACPE offers and conducts training and workshops on topics such as preparation of self-studies, evaluator training, assessment, curricular development, continuing professional development, and standards development. Training programs may also be customized to meet the needs of global stakeholders.

The SMART Pharmacist Program is a sustainable, evidence-based educational initiative, designed for national professional institutions, associations, and chambers to foster changes in the pharmacy profession. To learn more, visit the SMART Pharmacist Program website: www.smartpharmacistprogram.org

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COVID-19 UPDATE

Partners of the SMART Pharmacist Program: In this very unusual and unpredictable time of pandemic, we would like to connect with all of you, in different countries, all over the World and express our support.

We would also like to recognize and thank our SMART Pharmacists who are serving patients at the front line. We have prepared a short video message that we would like to ask you to forward to all of them to keep the motivation and sustainability of the Program.

To view a list of all programs outside of the United States that have been granted Certification Status by ACPE, please click one of the following buttons.