I just received an interview invitation for Chicago State University for December 14th. I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on the risks of attending a pharmacy school that isn't full accredited. Is their anyone from CSU that would be willing to share their likes and dislikes about the program? Thanks...
CSU Interview (Accreditation Status???)
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Right now, they have candidate status. There has never been a school which has reached candidate status, which has not gotten full accreditation.
The issue with CSU is not ACPE accreditation, but North Central accreditation. The Tribune had an article stating North Central (regional accreditation) might not reaccredit them or even give them probabtionary status. If North Central does not give accreditation, a whole cascade of bad news will follow.
The issue with CSU is not ACPE accreditation, but North Central accreditation. The Tribune had an article stating North Central (regional accreditation) might not reaccredit them or even give them probabtionary status. If North Central does not give accreditation, a whole cascade of bad news will follow.
thats a good question for interview day... im not familiar with North Central, but the risk is always there, CSU will stay with its "candidate" status until the 1st class graduates, then ACPE will decide again, thats a long time from now, but if North Central (donno who they are or why) refuses to re-accredit them, then it means the school could has some issues which can potentially piss off ACPE, well you can see the problem there
i'd do more research and ask them a load of questions if i were you
i'd do more research and ask them a load of questions if i were you
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For Illinois, North Central is the regional accreditation board. If your school is not accredited by them, no federal financial aid. Also, I believe ACPE now requires regional accreditation, which in the midwest means North Central accreditation. The big issue is CSU's poor 6 year graduation rate for full-time new freshmen, which is 12%. North Central has not refused to re-accredit anyone in a long time.
Thanks for the wealth of information. Based on the track record here, Im not sure if its worth spending the money to fly out for the interview. I'll thinkit over for the next few days and then decide. Thanks for all your input, its been very informative.
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I was invited to interview at CSU today. Its so much cheaper than MWU, but the only problem is that its not accredited yet and I heard in the news the university itself may lose accreditation, not specifically the pharm school. So iF the school loses accreditation the pharmacy does as well right?
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I interviewed and was accepted at CSU last year and from what I have seen, the pharmacy school was actually quite wonderful. The decision made by the ACPE to grant the school full candidate status means that the pharmacy school is making adequate progress to ensure that future graduates are capable of providing adequate health care and to follow the standards set. I can vouch for their college of pharmacy that they expect excellence and nothing less, however I cannot vouch for the whole school. If you go to the school website then you can review some accomplishments made by the students. My biggest advice would be to contact their Dean of Pharmacy and ask them about the accrediatation status, requirements, and process. They are usually very straight forward about it, and even at the interview they provide adequate information regarding the subject matter. So, I wouldn't write them off completely just yet. However, I can understand, you want the benefits to outweigh the cost. Good luck to the OP in making your decision and all your other endeavors.
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I would only consider an non-accredited school if you had no other options. If the school is your only interview so far then I would go ahead with it, but if you have other interviews lined up then I wouldn't bother. Good Luck!
U
UtWizard
Does anybody know if the CSU campus is in a safe part of town? I google mapped the location and did a street view and it seemed pretty run down. I just received an interview today and wanted to know if it worth the traveling costs to interview there.
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Its the south side of Chicago and it is pretty notorious for crime. Im not sure how CSU has their campus and security operations set up. I know everytime I drive through the south side, especially at night, I get a little nervous.
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I am a P1 student at CSU-COP, and my time here thus far has been excellent. The area around school is beaten up (typical for most outlying areas in Chicago, not exclusive to the south side); however the university buildings are nestled in the center of a large campus which has been secluded from any crimes in recent years. In addition, the campus police do a great job, not just patrolling the school, but the vicinity.
As for the accreditation, the COP has been making great progress and has been complimented for having a top curriculum per ACPE. Being a newer school, the curriculum is structured around what pharmacist must do in todays profession. So any issues regarding accreditation are not directed towards the COP, as it is headed towards full accreditation upon graduation of the inaugural class.
As far as the overall university accreditation by the North Central Association, the university has struggled to graduate their incoming freshmen. The university has a population around 6,000 students in which half are in the graduate programs. Unfortunately, the graduate rate shown by the Tribune is exclusive to the undergraduate program. In addition, most undergraduate students that graduate are transfer ins and are not represented in the graduation rate presented by the Tribune. Therefore, the graduation rate presented by the Tribune is skewed because it only shows the rate of incoming freshman and NOT transfer students.
The school was well aware of the issues that the NCA has stated. The past few months have had a 360 degree turn in administration. The new president of the university, as well as his staff are working to improve retention rates. In addition, the NCA is aware of the skewed numbers and they are working with the school in the schools continual efforts to improve graduation rates. It is rare for a university to be stripped of it accreditation. Only one university in the region has been stripped in the past 3 years. As I said earlier, the NCA works with the school to instate improvements.
If you choose to attend the interview, do not hesitate to ask any questions. I am certain the assistant dean will discuss these concerns and put the overblown article in perspective.
