Commitment made to fix FAMU College of Pharmacy's probation

[beans&flowers]

With the popular, prestigious pharmacy program at Florida A&M University now on probationary accreditation, Interim President Castell Bryant moved to reassure its 1, 036 students and 60 faculty that the flaws will be corrected.

"We made commitments to immediately address the number of issues of non- and partial compliance," Bryant said today in a statement. "We are still an accredited program with lots of work to do, and we will draw on our talented faculty and external resources to implement the changes and improvements needed for continued accreditation."


While FAMU students can take comfort that accreditation of the six-year doctor of pharmacy degree continues, the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences has been put under probationary status until June 30, 2008.

The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, which placed the college on probation, said that among the standards found to non-compliant were strategic planning, curriculum evaluation, proof of adequate faculty to meet needs and appropriate financial resources.


In a Jan. 30 memo to the FAMU board of trustees, Interim President Castell Bryant stated, "The accreditation term granted for the Doctor of Pharmacy program extends until June 30, 2008, under Probationary Status, a period of one year, which is less than the customary six-year cycle. This accreditation term reflects ACPE's grave concern for the Doctor of Pharmacy program at the College.

This development at one of FAMU's flagship programs coincides with the board's hiring last week of a new university president, James Ammons, who has been chancellor of North Carolina Central Unniversity. Ammons's contract with FAMU is being negotiated, and he does not yet have a starting date.

Ammons in an interview last week with the Tallahassee Democrat indicated achieving accreditation of the pharmacy college, and of the entire university which also comes due in 2008, was a key concern for him.

For more on this story, please read tomorrow's Tallahassee Democrat.

http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070206/BREAKINGNEWS/70206020

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[FAMUPharmD09]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) at its board meeting in Tampa, January 9-13, 2008, voted to lift its probationary status of the Florida A&M University (FAMU) College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (COPPS). In addition, the board voted to re-affirm the College’s accreditation status through June 30, 2010.

“I am elated by the actions of the ACPE Board in both lifting of our probation and extending accreditation through 2010,” said Henry Lewis III, dean of the College of Pharmacy. “This action comes as a result of the tremendous hard work of the faculty, staff and student body within the College over the past five months to address the 21 accreditation findings from its previous ACPE site visit.”

The actions of the ACPE Board of Directors came after a site visit team from ACPE visited the College on November 13-14, 2007. The team rendered a report to the Board of Directors that indicated that the College was in compliance with all 30 ACPE standards for accreditation. Attending the ACPE meeting in Tampa on Friday, January 11, where the accreditation status was reviewed were President James H. Ammons, Dean Henry Lewis III and Dr. John J. Scrivens, Director, Tampa Pharmacy Practice.

“This is a remarkable accomplishment that was achieved through the leadership of Dr. Lewis, the expertise of faculty and staff, and the hard work of students,” said Ammons. “One of my main priorities during my first 150 days as president was to make sure that the college had what it needed for probation to be lifted. As a result of this action, our administrators, faculty and staff in the College of Pharmacy can focus more of their attention on continuing its legacy of producing outstanding graduates this field.”

The Board of Directors indicated its appreciation for the commitment of President James H. Ammons to addressing the concerns of the Council raised in its previous report to the College. In particular, the Board of Director cited the president’s return of the eighteen (18) faculty and staff positions previously removed from the College. In addition, the administration’s support for the funding of clinical training sites and the completion of the Phase II of the College’s building were cited further as the administration’s commitment.

The Council praised the faculty in the COPPS for its prompt and expeditious development of the processes to address previous accreditation concerns. The development of the College’s Strategic Plan, the development of the new curriculum, the Assessment Program, and the Implementation of the Introductory and Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience Programs, were all considered favored actions based on the Council’s previous request.

Michael Thompson, assistant dean for Clinical Affairs and chair of the Accreditation Steering Committee said, “I am extreme happy to hear the decision by ACPE. We have an excellent program in the College, thanks to the faculty, staff and the support of the university administration. I am ecstatic that this was recognized by our distinguished colleagues at ACPE.”