What CME providers do inside accredited programs

You run a pharmacy school or you provide continuing pharmacy education, and you want to understand what an accreditor will ask you to do. The answer is a sequence of written evidence, peer reviews and visits, with fixed submission dates and a board decision at the end. This guide walks through that sequence as defined by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, from degree standards to international review.

The details cited in this entry were checked on history and role of ACPE.

ACPE sets standards for the education of pharmacists to prepare them for pharmacist-provided patient care. Since 1932 it has worked with schools and organizations to support quality across the profession. For you as a provider, that means your program design, your continuing education offering and your documentation all map to written criteria and peer judgment, not to a single inspection.

What ACPE asks of a pharmacy degree program

ACPE is recognized by the US Department of Education as the national agency for accreditation of professional degree programs in pharmacy. It also acts as the national agency for accreditation of providers of continuing education. It offers evaluation and certification of professional degree programs internationally, and in collaboration with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists it accredits pharmacy technician education and training programs.

The history explains the current standard. The agency started in 1932 as the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education and took the name Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education in 2003. It first set standards for the baccalaureate degree in pharmacy, then added Doctor of Pharmacy standards as an alternative. In 2000 it announced the move to the Doctor of Pharmacy as the sole entry-level degree for the profession. If you plan a curriculum now, you plan around that PharmD expectation and you keep evidence that instruction and support services help students reach their goals.

Why peer accreditation shapes your daily work

In the United States, accreditation is a way to ensure and improve the quality of higher education with standards written by peers. A school or program that completes review has the instruction, student support and other services in place that students need to meet educational goals. The broader result cited for the system is diverse, flexible and robust higher education.

For your team, the practical effect is continuity. You can link your planning choices to program design for accredited continuing education and show how each activity supports learning rather than attendance alone. Reviewers look for that alignment between aims, teaching and learner support.

Where does continuing education fit for providers?

ACPE developed standards for approval, now called accreditation, of providers of continuing pharmacy education in 1975. In 1999 it added standards for providers that conduct certificate programs in pharmacy. That distinction matters if you offer both routine continuing education and longer certificate programs, because the expectations for design and assessment differ.

You can learn more about the history and role of ACPE before you map your own offering, since the same body covers degree programs, continuing education providers and, with its partner, technician training. Keep your continuing education records separate from degree records and keep each activity tied to its own set of criteria.

What if your school operates outside the United States?

ACPE created its International Services Program in February 2011 to help international stakeholders seeking guidance on quality assurance and advancement of pharmacy education. Through that program it accepts applications for International Accreditation from programs that are a minimum of four academic years in length. Interested programs are asked to review the Eligibility Criteria and the Quality Criteria first, then contact ACPE staff to discuss the timeline, requirements and fees.

That early check saves work. Staff can answer questions about eligibility and the application timeline before you commit writing time. If your program does not meet the length threshold or the eligibility conditions, you pause there and strengthen the program before you proceed.

Which steps do you complete before any visit?

The application follows the same order for every international program. You submit a letter of intent. You complete a pre-application consultation. You write a Self-Study Report that measures your program against the Quality Criteria. You submit that Self-Study by March 1 or September 1. Those two dates drive everything that follows.

After submission, a Preliminary Review Team is assembled and conducts a cursory review of the Self-Study. Its report goes to the ACPE International Commission and then to the ACPE Board of Directors at their meetings for consideration of authorization of an initial comprehensive evaluation visit. You do not schedule travel until that authorization is granted. Use the waiting period to keep data current, because reviewers will test the Self-Study against evidence on site or online.

What happens during and after the evaluation visit?

The visit calendar depends on your submission date. A Self-Study filed by March 1 leads to an evaluation visit the following fall, in September or October. A Self-Study filed by September 1 leads to a visit the following spring, in February or March. The process runs in two annual cycles, and the decision on granting status occurs roughly nine months after submission of the Self-Study. The total time from the letter of intent depends on how long your team needs to complete the Self-Study process.

After the visit, the Evaluation Team Report returns to the International Commission and then to the Board. For a spring visit, Commission review occurs in May and Board determination occurs in June. For a fall visit, Commission review occurs in November and Board determination occurs in January. The Board then considers granting International Accreditation status. You can explain that rhythm to leadership in plain terms and connect format choices to meetings and enduring materials in accredited learning so teaching stays stable while review proceeds.

Can an evaluation move online when travel stops?

ACPE states that it is currently not traveling to countries that are subject to a Level 3 or Level 4 Travel Advisory from the US Department of State, with levels updated by the State Department as appropriate. When the Board finds it appropriate, ACPE can evaluate a pharmacy degree program online under its policies and procedures.

If the initial evaluation is conducted online, status as International Accreditation or International Preaccreditation can still be granted, but the status carries the designation "online evaluation" until an on-site visit can take place and the program can be considered for removal of that designation. If your campus falls under a travel advisory, ask ACPE how that rule affects your application and keep your electronic records ready for remote review.

Check the Eligibility Criteria, the Quality Criteria and the guidance on submission of a letter of intent, then contact the ACPE team to confirm which cycle fits your Self-Study schedule. Take the March 1 or September 1 deadline to your next planning meeting and assign owners for the letter, the consultation and each section of the Self-Study.

Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education entity note

The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education sets standards for pharmacist education and accredits professional degree programs and continuing education providers in the United States, with recognition from the US Department of Education since 1952 and from the Council for Higher Education Accreditation since April 2004. Its pages describe degree standards and the PharmD as sole entry-level degree, provider accreditation from 1975 with certificate program standards from 1999, joint technician accreditation work and an International Services Program with Eligibility and Quality Criteria and defined application steps.