In a very general way, each Faculty seeking accreditation is asked to define what it wants to achieve with its professional program - i.e. what is its mission - what is its intended outcomes? It is asked to demonstrate that it has a program and the resources to produce that outcome. It is asked to have procedures for evaluating whether or not the desired outcome is achieved. Finally, it is asked to have a plan for correcting deficiencies and for incorporating new ideas into its program.

For established programs, there are five steps in the accreditation process:

1. The University makes application for accreditation under CCAPP. The application is composed of three sets of documents:

1. Application for Accreditation - providing information on personnel, budgets, enrolment, etc.

2. Comprehensive Internal Review - providing in-depth information on the Faculty under the headings outlined in the Comprehensive Internal Review Guide. The focus is on the present and the past five years, i.e. “where we have been and where we are”.

3. Strategic Plan - detailing the University's and Faculty's plans over the next three to six-year period. It focuses on "where we want to go and how we plan to get there".

2. A site evaluation for a baccalaureate or doctor of pharmacy program is conducted by a four-member team composed of a CCAPP board member, a dean, a pharmacy faculty member and the executive director of CCAPP. Every effort is made to include individuals with expertise in University and Faculty policies, procedures and finances; in the pharmacy practice/clinical area and/or the social and administrative sciences; and in the basic sciences. When a Pharm.D. program is being evaluated, an individual with experience as a faculty member in a Pharm.D. program is added to the team. The appropriate provincial regulatory authority (authorities) is (are) invited to appoint an observer to each site visit evaluation team.

The team seeks information to supplement the comprehensive internal review report, assesses the feasibility of the strategic plan, and prepares a draft evaluation report.

3. The Executive Director prepares the final evaluation report on the Faculty and a recommended accreditation status for consideration by the CCAPP board of directors.

4. The board of directors makes a decision on the appropriate accreditation status to be granted the Faculty and determines the time period for the submission of the progress reportand/or any conditions to be associated with the accreditation award.

5. The University president and the dean of the Faculty are advised of the Board's decision and the accreditation status is published in the CCAPP Annual Report and Directory of Accredited Programs.

Full accreditation is granted for six years. Thus, an ongoing cycle of comprehensive internal review, strategic planning and external review is established within each Faculty of Pharmacy.