School of Pharmacy Accreditation

The technical standards for admission &continued matriculation set forth by the School of Pharmacy outline the non-academic abilities considered essential for students to achieve the level of competence required by the faculty and by the ACPE, the pharmacy-accrediting agency, in order to obtain the Pharm.D. degree.

Notre Dame of Maryland University School of Pharmacy must evaluate not only the scholastic aptitude of each and every student, but also must consider students’ current ability to safely apply their knowledge and skills to effectively interact with patients and others in educational and healthcare settings. 

Graduates of the School of Pharmacy are eligible to become pharmacists without restrictions on their practice; therefore, the curriculum requires students to successfully complete all components of the program. Depending on the circumstances, some reasonable accommodation may be possible and made available to students with disabilities in accordance with University policy, and state and federal laws. However, a student must be able to perform in a reasonably independent manner. Upon request of the student, the University will make good faith efforts in providing reasonable accommodation as required by law. 

The School of Pharmacy engages in an interactive process with applicants and students with disabilities and complies with all state and federal laws regarding reasonable accommodation. The School of Pharmacy adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards of the pharmacy profession.

While the School of Pharmacy will attempt to identify ways of opening the curriculum to competitive, qualified disabled students, the School must maintain the integrity of its curriculum and preserve those elements deemed essential to educating a pharmacist. As such, the School of Pharmacy reserves the right deny admission or dismiss any student who, upon completion of the interactive process, is unable to meet these technical standards with reasonable accommodations and/or would be deemed to pose a threat to patients and others in the educational and healthcare environment.

Technical Standards

The following technical standards, although not exhaustive, describe the basic-non academic qualifications required in addition to academic achievements, which the School of Pharmacy considers essential for admission and successful completion of the educational objectives of its curriculum.

A student must have abilities and skills in five areas:

1. Observation
2. Communication
3. Motor 
4. Intellectual, conceptual, Integrative, and Quantitative
5. Behavioral and Social

Technological compensation can be made for some limitation in certain of these areas, but a candidate should be able to perform in a reasonably independent manner.

Observation

The student must be able to accurately make observations at a distance and close at hand. Observation necessitates the functional use of the sense of vision and somatic sensation and is enhanced by the functional use of all of the other senses.

Communication

The student must be able to communicate effectively, efficiently and sensitively in both oral and written form and be able to perceive nonverbal communication. Students must be able to read, write, speak and comprehend English with sufficient mastery to accomplish didactic, clinical and laboratory curricular requirements in a timely, high-quality professional and accurate manner.

Sensory and Motor

Students must be able to coordinate both gross and fine muscular movements, maintain equilibrium and have functional use of the senses of touch and vision. The student must possess sufficient postural control, neuromuscular control and eye-to-hand coordination to perform profession-specific skills and tasks.

Intellectual, Conceptual, Integrative and Quantitative Abilities

The student must be able to problem solve, calculate, reason, analyze, record and synthesize large amounts of information in a timely manner. The student must be able to comprehend three-dimensional relationships and understand spatial relationships. Students must be able to learn in various conditions and environments including the classroom, laboratory, small groups, experiential settings and independent study.

Behavioral and Social Attributes

Students must demonstrate maturity, integrity, compassion and respect for others. The student must possess the emotional and mental health required for full utilization of his/her intellectual abilities, the exercise of good judgment and the consistent, prompt completion of all responsibilities and the development of mature, sensitive and effective relationships. The student must have the capability to recognize and show respect for differences in culture, values and ethics among people. Students must be able to tolerate physically, mentally and emotionally taxing workloads, function effectively under stress, and must display appropriate coping responses. The student must be able to adapt to changing environments, to display flexibility, and to learn to function in the face of uncertainties. Compassion, integrity, concern for others, effective interpersonal skills, willingness and ability to function as an effective team player, interest and motivation to learn are all personal qualities required during the educational process.

Diagnosed Psychiatric Disorders

An individual with a diagnosed psychiatric disorder may function as a pharmacy student as long as the condition is under sufficient control to allow accomplishment of the above goals with or without reasonable accommodation. He or she must exhibit behavior and intellectual functioning that does not differ from acceptable standards. In the event of deteriorating emotional function, it is essential that a pharmacy student be willing to acknowledge the disability and accept professional help before the condition poses danger to self, patient, and colleagues.

Candidate Acceptance

Candidates must provide certification that they understand the technical standards upon their acceptance. Candidates who may not meet the technical standards are encouraged to contact the Director of Admissions to discuss and identify what accommodations, if any, the School of Pharmacy would need to make in order that the candidate might be able to meet the standards.

Complaints or Comments Regarding Program Compliance

The School of Pharmacy is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) 20 North Clark Street, Suite 2500, Chicago, IL, 60602-5109. The accreditation status of the School is reviewed by ACPE on a regular basis and is open to student and public comment. 

The accreditation standards are located on ACPE website (www.acpe-accredit.org). Comments or complaints regarding program compliance with the accreditation standards should be submitted to the office of the dean in writing. Complaints will be reviewed on a timely basis, and a response or plan of resolution will be communicated to individuals interested in the issue. Programmatic comments and complaints are kept on file in the office of the vice president for academic affairs and are available for review by ACPE.

ACPE has an obligation to assure itself that any institution which seeks or holds a preaccreditation or accreditation status for its professional program(s) conducts its affairs with honesty and frankness. Complaints from other institutions, students, faculty, or the public against a college or school of pharmacy, including tuition and fee policies, and as related to ACPE standards, policies or procedures, shall be placed in writing in detail by the complainant and submitted to the ACPE office. The complaint shall be submitted to the institution for response. Requests for confidentiality shall be respected to the extent any such information is not necessary for the resolution of the complaint.
 The Executive Director shall, based upon the complaint, the response and information from such further investigation deemed necessary, promptly determine the facts surrounding the issue, determine the validity of the complaint, and resolve the issue; provided, however, where the Executive Director deems it necessary or appropriate, the matter shall be considered at the next regular meeting of the Council. The time frame for resolution is generally within six months.

A record of complaints regarding a specific college or school of pharmacy, including student complaints received or made available, is kept for consideration on file at the Council office. Such record of complaints are considered during scheduled evaluations, or a special evaluation, as the case may require. 
The procedure shall provide for treatment of complaints in a timely manner that is fair and equitable to all parties. The complainant shall be advised of the decision or action as soon as possible.

When ACPE has cause to believe that any institution with which it is concerned is acting in an unethical manner or is deliberately misrepresenting itself to students or the public, it will investigate the matter and provide the institution an opportunity to respond to the allegations. If, on the basis of such investigation, after notice to the institution and opportunity for institutional response, ACPE finds an institution has engaged in unethical conduct or that its integrity has been seriously undermined, ACPE will either:
a. request that the institution show cause, within a stated time period, why adverse action should not be taken, or
b. in extreme cases, immediately discontinue its relationship with the institution by denying or withdrawing preaccreditation or accreditation status.
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A complaint against a college or a school of pharmacy must be related to the standards or the policies and procedures of ACPE and must be submitted in writing to the Executive Director.

Under existing practices, when a complaint is received, it is submitted to the college or school affected for response. If, thereafter, based upon the complaint and the response, the Executive Director determines that a complaint is not related to the standards or policies, the complainant is so advised in writing with a copy to the school or college, and the matter is treated as resolved.

Anonymous complaints pertaining to accreditation matters are retained and, depending on circumstances, may or may not be forwarded to the school or college involved, depending somewhat on the severity of the complaint. This decision is made by the Executive Director.

Where a complainant has threatened or filed legal action against the institution involved, ACPE will hold complaints in abeyance pending resolution of the legal issues and the complainant is so advised.

If the Executive Director finds a complaint to be extremely serious in nature charging egregious conduct that may warrant adverse action by the Council, or involves an interpretation which the Executive Director believes should be made by the Council, the complaint will be submitted to the Council for determination at the next regular meeting.

Extraordinary remedies available for complaints covering extreme cases are set forth in paragraphs (a) and (b) above.
 ACPE has an obligation to respond to any complaints which may be lodged against it by any institution, student, faculty or third party in respect to the application of ACPE's standards, policies and procedures where the complaining party is directly affected thereby. Any such complaint shall be submitted in writing. The Executive Director shall promptly determine the facts surrounding the issues and shall attempt to resolve the matter in consultation with the Public Interest Panel established pursuant to Article V of the ACPE By-Laws.

Complaints which cannot be resolved by the Executive Director shall be considered and resolved at the next regular meeting of the Council. The time frame for resolution is generally within six months.