National Survey of Pharmacy Program Self Study Processes, Strategies, and Stakeholders

To describe current approaches and perceptions in preparing self-study reports for an Accreditation Council on Pharmacy Education (ACPE) site visit at United States (US) schools/colleges of pharmacy.

A 28-item survey was administered to programs completing a full ACPE site visit between spring 2021 and spring 2025. Questions developed by the research team assessed self-study planning and preparation processes (10 items plus 2 items based on responses), site visit preparation approaches (1 item), stakeholder involvement (6 items), perceptions of the process (5 items), and open-ended questions (4 items: challenges, what respondents would do differently, strategies that led to success, and additional comments). Frequencies were used to report quantitative results and themes were identified for open-ended questions.

A total of 32 programs (out of 62) completed the survey (response rate=51.6%). Among the 32 respondents, most programs (93.8%) conducted "kick-off" meetings and provided preparatory materials; 59.4% started the self-study process 12-18 months before submission. Self-study leadership was typically assigned to deans or administrators with assessment roles (62.5%), with most utilizing newly created committees (68.7%). Administrators, faculty, and staff were involved in both writing (>90%) and reviewing drafts (>80%). Leadership, organization, and clear timelines emerged as key success strategies.

Despite varying institutional contexts, programs employed similar structural approaches to managing the self-study process. This project contributes to limited research analyzing how academic programs manage the self-study process. Future research should examine how implementation of the new accreditation requirements has influenced practices.