STANDARDS FOR MISSION, PLANNING, AND ASSESSMENT

Standard No. 1.        College or School of Pharmacy Mission and Goals

The College or School of Pharmacy should have a published statement, formulated within an ethical context, of its mission, goals, and objectives in the areas of education, research, service, and pharmacy practice.  This statement should be congruent with the mission of the University; the term "University" includes independent Colleges and Schools of Pharmacy.  This statement should include a fundamental commitment to the preparation of its students for the general practice of pharmacy with provision of the professional competencies necessary to the delivery of pharmaceutical care.  This statement should also demonstrate sensitivity to the importance of diversity in its commitment to the educational preparedness of its students for a health professional career.  Goals should be compatible with the general and specific objectives of pharmaceutical education in keeping with the scope of pharmacy practice and as reflected in the accreditation standards and guidelines.

Guideline 1.1

The mission statement of a College or School should include the College's or School's educational philosophy and how its professional program in pharmacy is designed to insure that graduates will be health care providers prepared for the present and evolving scope of practice of pharmacy, such as primary care.  This mission statement will be considered in the light of the College's or School's own stated purposes or aims so long as those purposes or aims demonstrably fall within the expectations of the profession as reflected in accreditation standards.

Guideline 1.2

To facilitate the College's or School's mission statement, an environment for teaching and learning should be fostered that appreciates the diversity of people, values the diversity of faculty role models, attends to the diverse needs of learners, and facilitates the ability of students to work and communicate effectively with diverse colleagues and patients.

Guideline 1.3

The goals and objectives established for a College or School should set forth the detailed intentions of the College or School, including consideration of required resources, processes, and outcomes for educational, research, service, and pharmacy practice programs.

Guideline 1.4

The mission statement of a College or School should acknowledge pharmaceutical care as an evolving mode of pharmacy practice in which the pharmacist, in concert with other health professionals, takes an active role on behalf of patients in making appropriate drug choices, by effecting distribution of medications to patients, and by assuming direct responsibilities to empower patients to achieve the desired outcomes of drug and related therapy.  The professional program in pharmacy should provide educational preparedness so as to enable the pharmacist to collaborate with other health professionals and to share in responsibility for the outcomes of drug and related therapy.  The professional program in pharmacy should promote the knowledge, skills, abilities, attitudes, and values necessary to the provision of pharmaceutical care for the general practice of pharmacy in any setting.  The College or School should assure an understanding of pharmaceutical care by its students early in the professional program in pharmacy.  The philosophy of practice as well as the necessary professional attitudes, ethics, and behaviors should evolve during the course of study.  Moreover, the College or School should insure the professionalization of students, including the provision of a positive outlook for all aspects of pharmacy practice.

Standard No. 2.        Systematic Planning

The College or School of Pharmacy should have a plan and deploy a systematic planning process to facilitate and continuously improve achievement of the College's or School's mission, goals, and objectives.  Plans and planning processes should benefit from the support and cooperation of the University administration.

Guideline 2.1

The systematic planning process should include review and revision, where necessary, of the College's or School's mission statement. The review procedure for the mission, goals, and objectives should be inclusive, involving administrative leaders, faculty, students, and practitioners.

Guideline 2.2

The planning process should be strategic in that it is ongoing, broadly-based, including students and practitioners, and considers financial and academic planning within the context of societal and professional changes occurring and contemplated.

Standard No. 3.        Systematic Assessment of Achievement

The College or School of Pharmacy should establish and maintain a system that assesses the extent to which its mission, goals, and objectives are being achieved.  Formative and summative indicators of achievement should be identified and employed in a continuous and systematic process of evaluating the outcomes of the educational, research, service, and pharmacy practice programs.  Evaluation should extend beyond the acquisition of knowledge by students to the application of knowledge and skills in the care of patients in improving medication use.  The College or School should show evidence of using analysis of outcome measures throughout the educational, research, service, and pharmacy practice programs, for purposes of continuing development and improvement, including revisions in curriculum, and modifications of faculty and student policies.

Guideline 3.1

Information regarding the effectiveness of the professional program in pharmacy, particularly in the form of student achievement, should be gathered systematically from sources such as students, alumni, state boards of pharmacy and other publics, professional staff of affiliated practice facilities, and a variety of other practitioners.  The results of student exit interviews, preceptor evaluations, alumni surveys, and standardized licensure examinations should be appropriately employed in the assessment system of the College or School; other indicators of programmatic and student achievement that assess the extent to which the mission, goals, and objectives are being achieved should be developed and appropriately applied.