Marshall University’s Doctor of Pharmacy program has been granted full accreditation status by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) Board of Directors, the school announced today.
Kevin W. Yingling, R.Ph., M.D., inaugural dean of the four-year-old program, said the official notification came following the board’s meeting in Chicago.
“This achievement is an outstanding one for Marshall University,” Yingling said. “The standards for accreditation are complex and comprehensive and I am grateful to our team of faculty, staff and students who have worked so diligently during this process to ensure the outcomes were positive. In many cases, we not only met the standards of quality—we exceeded them.”
The school will advance from Candidate Status to Accredited Status with a two-year cycle, which is customary with all new programs.
Marshall University President Jerome Gilbert said the accreditation success is a testament to the work of Yingling and others, whose vision for the school was undeterred during the early years.
“I want to congratulate Dr. Yingling on this stellar accomplishment,” Gilbert said. “He and our late President Stephen Kopp were dedicated advocates of Marshall opening a pharmacy school, which is proving to be strategically important and beneficial to our community, region and state.”
Marshall University’s Board of Governors approved the doctoral program in 2009. The first class entered in 2012 and graduated in May.
“The Higher Education Policy Commission extends wholehearted congratulations to Marshall University, under the leadership of President Gilbert and Dr. Yingling, on reaching this commendable milestone,” said Paul L. Hill, Ph.D., chancellor of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission. “This is a testament to the growing success of Marshall’s pharmacy school – and it signals burgeoning new opportunities for our students and improved health care for our state.”
The Marshall University School of Pharmacy is a 2+4 program, which means students can matriculate after earning the required prerequisites. It also boasts a learner-centered, interdisciplinary, team-based learning approach.
ACPE is an autonomous and independent agency whose board of directors is appointed by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) and the American Council on Education. Since the inception of its accreditation agency recognition program in 1952, ACPE has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, and in April 2004, received recognition by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
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Photos: (Above) The inaugural graduating class of the Marshall University School of Pharmacy poses for a photo prior to commencement May 5. (Below) Kevin W. Yingling, R.Ph., M.D., is the founding dean of the Marshall University School of Pharmacy