An Exploratory Analysis of PharmD Program Value Using the Tuition: Licensure Index

Objective. To assess the value of a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program using the Tuition: Licensure Index (TLI), a de novo metric combining tuition and licensure pass rates. Methods. The TLI is a ratio of program tuition and licensure pass rates, where separate indices are derived for the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination or NAPLEX (ie, TLI-N) and the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination (ie, TLI-M). The TLI can be further nuanced depending on use of in-state (ie, TLI-N_i and TLI-M_i) or out-of-state (ie, TLI-N_o and TLI-M_o) tuition. The TLI-N for the 2018 cohort was used in this analysis. Total program tuition and NAPLEX pass rates were obtained from publicly available sources. Differences in traditional vs accelerated and public vs private programs were examined using the TLI-N categories "one or less" and "greater than one." Results. While differences in TLI-N_i category (ie, "one or less" and "greater than one") for traditional vs accelerated PharmD programs were not significant, a major difference was found in the TLI-N_i category for public vs private programs. No differences in the TLI-N_o category for public vs private or for traditional vs accelerated programs were found. Conclusion. In-state public (vs private) PharmD programs may be preferable for optimizing value. Prospective students are encouraged to consider a school's tuition and licensure pass rates when selecting a PharmD program.