FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: ACPE

(312) 664-3575

info@acpe-accredit.org

February 7, 2022

Chicago, IL – The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) announces that it will be changing the terminology used within the ACPE International Services Program (ISP). As of January 1, 2023, ISP will offer “International-Accreditation,” “International-Preaccreditation,” and “Provisional International-Accreditation” to qualifying pharmacy degree programs outside the United States of America and its Territories. These will replace ACPE’s current “Certification,” “Precertification” and “Provisional Certification” statuses.

The new designations do not imply or confer eligibility to graduates of a program with such status to apply directly to sit for the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) for licensure in the United States. ACPE International-Accreditation, International-Preaccreditation and Provisional International-Accreditation do not change or modify the requirement for pharmacists educated outside of the United States to achieve the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy’s (NABP) Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee (FPGEC) Certification before applying for a pharmacy licensure exam or state board of pharmacy license in the United States. ACPE International- Accreditation Status does not assure that the professional degree program graduates are directly eligible for pharmacist licensure in any of the states or territories of the United States. In order to assure that there is no confusion over this, ACPE is providing clear disclaimers on its website and in all its materials, including its Policies and Procedures, and is requiring the following:

• A disclaimer using wording specified by ACPE on the foreign school’s website and other applicable media, publications, etc.
• All enrolled students must sign an acknowledgement that graduation from the program with International-Accreditation Status does not confer eligibility to graduates to apply directly to sit for the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) for licensure in the US
• An agreement that schools with programs with [current] Certification Status will need to sign stating they will comply with the new Policies and Procedures before the status of the program is changed from “Certified” to “Internationally-Accredited” (or other status, as applicable); i.e., “grandfathering.”

Revised ACPE’s Policies and Procedures that reflect the new terminology will be implemented on January 1, 2023. They will include sanctions for schools that provide false or misleading information about the benefits of International-Accreditation Status for graduates of a program with International- Accreditation Status.