Here's a question I have...
I understand that if a school has candidate status, someone who has graduated may sit for the NAPLEX. What if you are in the 2nd or 3rd class the school has admitted and the 1st class bombs the NAPLEX? I understand that no school has never not reached full accreditation, but say hypothetically the above situation were to occur - what would happen to the students who are still in that school?
To my knowledge, NAPLEX pass rates don't necessarily affect the accreditation process. However, suppose 0% of the class passed...ACPE will probably scratch their heads and head down for a visit. Slightly unlikely since ACPE has ridden that pharm school's ass multiple times per year from inception to 1st graduating class.
calisoca said:
I'll go ahead and add something nobody has said yet (unless I read over it). As long as you are enrolled in a year when the school has pre-accred status, you can sit for NAPLEX. Even if they lose the pre-accred status (which will never happen) after you have been enrolled, you can still sit for NAPLEX because you matriculated in a year that they had the status. This point was brought to my attention during my Touro interview by the chair of admissions. A few kids asked about it and he emphasized it into the ground.
To my knowledge, this is actually not correct. This is taken directly from ACPE (I put the important stuff in bold if you don't want to read):
...Precandidate accreditation status denotes a developmental program, which is expected to mature in accord with stated plans and within a defined time period. Precandidate status is awarded to a new program of a College or School of Pharmacy that has not yet enrolled students in the professional program, and authorizes the college or school to admit its first class. Candidate accreditation status is awarded to a Doctor of Pharmacy program that has students enrolled, but has not yet had a graduating class. Full accreditation is awarded to a program that has met all ACPE standards for accreditation and has graduated its first class.
Graduates of a class designated as having Candidate status have the same rights and privileges of those graduates from a fully accredited program.
From my University's site, language from ACPE:
...Following the enrollment of the inaugural class of students in Fall 2008, an on-site evaluation will be scheduled during the academic year 2008-2009 for purposes of gathering additional information to be considered in the Board's consideration of advancement to Candidate accreditation status.
Based upon this evaluation, should the Board feel that Candidate status cannot be conferred, the School could respond to the Board's concerns and reapply prior to the graduation of the first class. If Candidate status is not granted, even after reapplication, graduates may not be eligible for licensure as pharmacists. If Candidate status is granted and the program continues to develop as planned, full accreditation of the Doctor of Pharmacy program would be considered by the Board following the graduation of students from the program...
The ambiguity I found is....if you are in a pre-candidate program, are not moved candidate by the time you graduate, BUT the school achieves candidate status 3 months after you graduate, are you eligible to take NAPLEX then? Are you in a theoretical black hole for 3 months? Is the decision retroactive, say, if you graduated and the school doesn't achieve candidate until 10 years after you graduate? Again, usually not an issue...I'm dealing with theories now.
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