The Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs acknowledges with thanks, the assistance and support provided by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education in the US and the Canadian Medical Association Conjoint Accreditation Services in the development of the CCAPP standards. The CCAPP Standards and Guidelines (revised 2006) for the professional degree program in pharmacy are adapted, with permission, from the ACPE Accreditation Standards and Guidelines adopted by ACPE on June 14, 1997. The structure and style of the CCAPP Standards for Accreditation of Pharmacy Technician Programs are used with permission of the Canadian Medical Association, originator of the Requirements for accreditation of educational programs in designated health science professions.

The accreditation Standards for the professional degree program in pharmacy define the outcomes expected of the education program. CCAPP has established a total of 23 Standards in seven broad categories - Standards for Mission, Planning, and Evaluation; Standards for Organization and Administration; Standards for the Academic Program; Standards for Students; Standards for Faculty and Staff; Standards for Facilities and Learning Resources; and Standard for Financial Resources.

The Standards for pharmacy technician programs define the requirements expected of these programs in five broad areas: Institution Mission and Program Goals; Admission Policies and Procedures; Facilities, Learning Resources and Support; Curriculum, Instruction and Student Assessment; and Program Evaluation.

Accreditation standards reflect those professional and educational attributes identified by the Council as essential to the professional degree in pharmacy program at a university or to the pharmacy technician program offered at a community, regional or private career college. The standards embrace the philosophy that program graduates should have acquired general and special knowledge; general to avoid the constraints of too narrow a perspective, special to provide a basis for critical professional evaluations. The standards recognize that a quality pharmacy education is dependent on a variety of components including general knowledge, basic and professional sciences, and professional practice experience.

Recognizing the importance of having a built-in mechanism for the regular review and updating of standards to guard against rigidity and stagnation of the academic program, CCAPP has a standing committee charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the accreditation standards reflect contemporary pharmacy practice and pharmaceutical knowledge.

It is also necessary to guard against specifying too narrowly what must be included in the actual curriculum. Each institution must be free to develop its program taking advantage of local opportunities and within the context of its own university or college, and resource base. In fact, diversification is encouraged. CCAPP's aim is comparability of output without necessarily having comparability of process. One might say that CCAPP encourages "controlled diversity".

Accreditation Standards – First Professional Degree in Pharmacy Program Awarded as the Baccalaureate (FPDBACC)

English

PDF version (2006) - 247 KB

French

PDF Version (2006) - 152 KB
Annexes(2006) - 121 KB

Accreditation Standards - Pharmacy Technician Programs

English

PDF version (December2007) - 223 KB

French

PDF version (currently being translated)