What do you guys think about accreditation? Is it a good thing (make your imprint on the school, better students to work with, motivation wise) or a bad thing (possible folding of the school, not a big enough name for professional connections, too much pressure)? What do you think? 👍 or 👎 ?
Accreditation - good or bad?
- Thread starter drpharMD
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Seriously?
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hah.
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I'm against accreditation, personally. Why would I want a degree that I can use? /sarcasm
HICP is on the phone, sir.
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Thats one way to look at it...if you are lazy, never study, suck at PCAT...then a unaccredited school will still take you easily.
Hints why there is a surplus of retail pharmacists. 🙄
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It is not in the best interest of an unaccredited school to find people who are not motivated in pursuing their education seriously. Their full accreditation comes after they've graduated their full class so I would think they'd want at least a good class of graduates to have something to show.
But, then again, what I think is logical hasn't always been the way things play out. : /
But, then again, what I think is logical hasn't always been the way things play out. : /
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Guys, if a school is "unaccredited," it doesn't exist! (i.e. HICP)
It's called fully accredited vs. not fully accredited.
It's called fully accredited vs. not fully accredited.
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I think some of you misinterpreted what I was saying. I was talking about applying to schools who haven't acheived full accreditation yet, whether an applicant is willing to take that chance. Some schools might not receive proper funding, etc. Pharmacyy, show some maturity - we are all going to be health professionals - lets act like it.
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You're right, dumbguy. Wow - oxymoron, lol.
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I had a feeling when I first read this that it was what you are going for. Honestly, it all depends on the school's situation. Some new schools haven't achieved full accreditation yet, but show signs that they're well on their way, such as hiring experienced deans who have gotten other schools accredited, or hiring staff with a strong reputation. I really don't think it's much of a risk unless there are already some red flags being shown.
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I can begin interviews for my backyard pharmacy school too but it doesn't mean it exists. If UNE doesn't get pre-candidate status by the fall semester, they won't be able to enroll those who've been accepted and begin their classes.
My living room pharmacy school is better than your backyard. 😛 I've been thinking about the same thing; what will happen to those who have paid for the interview, etc.
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That's the gamble that students take by interviewing at a school that has yet to acquire its pre-candidate status. The school will prepare as if they'll get their pre-candidate status before the fall semester so that they can proceed but if they don't, everyone who planned on attending UNE are SOL. This is the reason why people shouldn't make housing plans until they hear news concerning their accreditation status.
You know how schools give you a conditional acceptance based on your pre-req's completed? Think of this but with the roles reversed. 🙂
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I would use an EXTREME amount of caution interviewing at a school that does not have pre-candidate status. It does NOT mean that they are not on track to get it - but I would spend an awful lot of time talking to the faculty and staff to ensure they are on the right course before I slapped down my tuition money...
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Accreditation is good. It's always good. If someone tells you it's not good, you should look on top of their head because they're probably wearing a tinfoil hat. That's not to say unaccredited schools aren't good, because they will in time get accreditation. I'm talking just about accreditation itself.
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Most states require you graduate from an accredited school (or candidate) before being allowed to sit for the NAPLEX. Schools can't acheive full accreditation until after they graduate their first class.
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You should avoid applying to any not fully accredited schools. Why waste the time and money? Just apply to schools that are fully accredited.
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you have learned well, young padawan
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fyi, harvard's not accredited. its graduates seem to do just fine.
That information is completely wrong. Harvard has been accredited for quite a while.
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One of my teachers told me they weren't because they do not enforce a bell-curve GPA system (give a high percentage of A/B's). Upon looking into the subject, I can not find any information to support my original comment,
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I think a lot of you read the original post wrong too. When I read it I immediately thought of a private SOP in florida, I think Nova, who was put on probation or something.
Also I don't think the original post was asking you to compare accredited schools and non-accredited schools and say which you think is better and why. But rather, is accredidation a good thing? Should it exist at all? At least thats how I read the post.
Anyways when I read the post I thought, what if you were attending an accredited SOP and before completing the program the school lost their accredidation? That would really suck, and if this happened to me then I know I would think of accredidation as a bad thing, because I would have lost all the time and money investing in, apparently, nothing!
Obviously though, accredidation is a good thing, I think...
Also I don't think the original post was asking you to compare accredited schools and non-accredited schools and say which you think is better and why. But rather, is accredidation a good thing? Should it exist at all? At least thats how I read the post.
Anyways when I read the post I thought, what if you were attending an accredited SOP and before completing the program the school lost their accredidation? That would really suck, and if this happened to me then I know I would think of accredidation as a bad thing, because I would have lost all the time and money investing in, apparently, nothing!
Obviously though, accredidation is a good thing, I think...
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RE: - the bold part.... wow you haven't been here long have you?
RE: - the italics.... After you have been here for a while you will come to really doubt that statement too.
As far as the question goes... I believe the candidate/pre-candidate schools are working harder then the fully accredited schools. They are being watched more closely and they are putting their future on their students shoulders. If a majority of their kids turn into half assers and flunk out well then they probably won't be candidates very long.
Most of the candidate schools have as high or higher board pass rates. I think some of the posters here believe there must be a different board for students from accredited or candidate schools. There is not.. just for the record.
Thats the important thing to me really. Is the school going to prepare me for the future in the career I chose? Thats the whole point of however many years you have been going to school right?
Assuming thats the case I will go with the school that has the highest pass rates and is placing the greatest percentage of their graduates into jobs.
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I doubt any school can lose their accredidation...especially old/good schools lilke UCSF, UNC, Mercer, etc.
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As far as I understand a school CAN lose their accredidation after being probation for 6 months. See here http://hamptonroads.com/2009/03/hampton-sues-keep-pharmacy-school-probation .
Good discussion, guys. I think that accrediation can be positive with the right Dean and students behind it. The fate of the school literally lies on his/her ability to hire the right faculty and accept top notch students that will be able to do well in the standardized tests that will follow graduation (NAPLEX, etc.) To me, it seems kind of exciting to know that the fate of the galaxy -- I mean the school -- lies solely on my prowess as a student. That kind of pressure HAS to push most to do well academically.
To the OP:
I interviewed at Regis last month (they expect to gain pre-candidate status in June, I think) and actually asked about this. Regis has a pretty good reputation, being a private Jesuit school, so I don't forsee any problems with their becoming accredited. The problem is that they can't be accredited until they graduate a class, which means the first class will go to a not fully accredited school the entire time. What their Dean told me was that in the extremely unlikely event that they should fail to become fully accredited, they would take the responsibility to find a program for the entire class. I would say investigate the school's general reputation, and ask questions like this at your interview. Remember, the interview is for you to check out the school as much as it is for them to check out you.
I interviewed at Regis last month (they expect to gain pre-candidate status in June, I think) and actually asked about this. Regis has a pretty good reputation, being a private Jesuit school, so I don't forsee any problems with their becoming accredited. The problem is that they can't be accredited until they graduate a class, which means the first class will go to a not fully accredited school the entire time. What their Dean told me was that in the extremely unlikely event that they should fail to become fully accredited, they would take the responsibility to find a program for the entire class. I would say investigate the school's general reputation, and ask questions like this at your interview. Remember, the interview is for you to check out the school as much as it is for them to check out you.
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I would tell you to first apply to all schools with full accredidation that you like. If you fail, try some new schools, but research to see that they are heading in the right track.
For me personally, there are a number of problems that a not fully-accredited school may encounter.
1.) it may fail to continue the process of accredidation, and no matter how good it seems, there is always a chance. You will spend a lot of money and time on a school, as a result a not fully accredited school should never be your first choice.
2.) Even if the school is able to eventually get full accredidation, you will still need to pass the NAPLEX. Understand that when you attend the not fully accredited school, that you are in an experiemental program with many changes still to come after you. So the passing rate on the NAPLEX may not be 99-100% first time.
3.) I think the job market will get a bit tougher in the years to come. It may always be helpful to attend a school that is rather well known and has many connections.
Just try a lot of accredited schools ok, you will get into one.
For me personally, there are a number of problems that a not fully-accredited school may encounter.
1.) it may fail to continue the process of accredidation, and no matter how good it seems, there is always a chance. You will spend a lot of money and time on a school, as a result a not fully accredited school should never be your first choice.
2.) Even if the school is able to eventually get full accredidation, you will still need to pass the NAPLEX. Understand that when you attend the not fully accredited school, that you are in an experiemental program with many changes still to come after you. So the passing rate on the NAPLEX may not be 99-100% first time.
3.) I think the job market will get a bit tougher in the years to come. It may always be helpful to attend a school that is rather well known and has many connections.
Just try a lot of accredited schools ok, you will get into one.
Also, do extensive research on the programs that are not accredited. Check the ACPE website to see what kind of evaluations have been done, if there were any issues, and when their next evaluation is due. Check the school's staff; read up on the professors' CV's if available. Make sure that the school is backed by an accredited university (ie. University of New England and Husson Colleges of Pharmacy are both attached to their respective universities while Central California School of Pharmacy is a stand-alone school: http://ccspedu.org/index.htm).
There's more you can do... but I just listed the few I did when I was looking into schools.
There's more you can do... but I just listed the few I did when I was looking into schools.
