As one historically Black university resolves litigation with the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, another, Hampton University, ignites a similar suit against the same agency to restore the reputation of what school officials call “a proven” pharmacy program.
Last week, Xavier University of Louisiana and the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) amicably resolved a suit filed by Xavier in February to lift the probation imposed by the accrediting agency on Xavier’s College of Pharmacy.
Hampton University, located in Virginia, is seeking a similar reversal to the probation imposed by the council against its pharmacy school. With its accreditation and, with that, its ability to receive federal aid at stake, Hampton filed suit in U.S. District Court for the eastern district of Virginia last week to have the probation status rescinded and enjoin ACPE from revoking the pharmacy school’s accreditation status or taking any adverse action for two years.
In Xavier’s case, ACPE had faulted the pharmacy college for an inadequate number of faculty and officials questioned the information it had received about student rotations at clinics, pharmacies and hospitals, The Times-Picayune reported. Xavier refuted the council’s findings, arguing the information regarding pharmacy faculty was based on outdated reports and inaccurate forms submitted by a new employee.
Dr. Norman Francis, president of Xavier University, told the Times-Picayune recent faculty hires resulted in the student-faculty ratio decreasing from 16-to-1 to 13-to-1. Xavier’s College of Pharmacy boasts more than 600 pharmacy students.
Warren Bell, spokesperson for Xavier, tells Diverse that both parties have agreed that no additional information regarding this matter would be publicly discussed “to protect the confidentiality and integrity of the accreditation process.”
As with the Xavier case, ACPE is claiming that Hampton lacks a sufficient number of pharmacy faculty to meet the school’s needs. However no specific number, quotas or deadlines were ever provided by the accrediting agency to Hampton to maintain its accreditation, school officials say.
