Variations are to be expected, and superiority in certain qualities may compensate, at least in part, for deficiencies in others. Many college and school programs exceed Council standards in one or more of the various elements comprising accreditation. In pharmaceutical education, as in American education generally, there is diversity. In this diversity there is potential strength. The accreditation process, therefore, seeks to maximize potential strengths while assuring basic expectations for quality pharmaceutical education.
Accreditation concerns itself with both quality assurance and quality enhancement.
To advance the standards of pharmaceutical education in the United States and associated commonwealths. To formulate the educational, scientific and professional principles and standards for professional programs in pharmacy which a college or school of pharmacy is expected to meet and maintain for accreditation of its programs, and to revise these principles and standards when deemed necessary or advisable. To formulate policies and procedures for the accreditation process. To publish a directory of accredited professional programs of colleges and schools of pharmacy for the use of state boards of pharmacy or appropriate state licensing agencies in pharmacy, other interested agencies, and the public, and to revise such directory annually or as frequently as deemed desirable. To provide assurances to constituencies that the professional programs which have been accredited continue to comply with standards, and therefore to conduct periodic evaluations in a manner similar to that for original accreditation.