School of Pharmacy earns maximum eight-year accreditation


LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas School of Pharmacy earned the maximum accreditation term of eight years following the October site visit and evaluation by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education.

Among the things cited by the evaluation team were a high-quality academic program with a strong basic science component, outstanding leadership from the dean, excellent facilities and an effective and inclusive self-evaluation process.

The five-member evaluation team, which comprised pharmacy faculty and administrators from across the country, spent three days at the school of pharmacy, including visits to the main campus in Lawrence and campuses in Wichita and Kansas City.

The school’s self-study team, led by Associate Dean Brian Barnes and Assessment Director Millinda Fowles, worked closely with administrators, faculty, staff, students, alumni and professional pharmacists throughout Kansas to prepare the 1,100-page report.

The required content included in-depth analysis of the schools mission, planning and evaluation processes; organization and administration; curriculum; student services; faculty and staff performance; and facilities and resources. Preparation for the study has been ongoing, but the self-study committee, chaired by Barnes, began formal meetings in the fall of 2012.

Barnes said the process of closely examining each part of the school has benefits beyond accreditation.

“While the self-study process was time- and resource-intensive, the in-depth assessment conducted by the self-study committee members was insightful,” Barnes said. “The collaborative effort of this committee with other constituents highlighted our program’s strengths and also identified areas for targeted improvement.”

This was the pharmacy school’s first ACPE review since opening a campus in Wichita and increasing its class size from 105 students to its current annual enrollment of 170 students. School of Pharmacy Dean Ken Audus said the accreditation team was impressed with the distance education infrastructure and the way in which it is implemented.

“The expansion to Wichita works only because we are able to provide students there with the same high-quality education we provide on the Lawrence campus,” Audus said. “We’ve worked extremely hard to ensure that the infrastructure is top-notch and that our students in Wichita have everything they need to succeed. It was satisfying to see the accreditation team recognize that.”

The school’s next accreditation visit will be in 2022.

Mon, 02/24/2014

author

Jackie Hosey

Media Contacts

Jackie Hosey

School of Pharmacy

785-864-1206