The KU School of Pharmacy’s Doctor of Pharmacy program has been given “accredited with probation” status for multiple compliance issues with national standards.
The Doctor of Pharmacy program was reported to have violated five national compliance standards set by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, including standards for staffing, faculty strength and transparency.
Students were notified via email on June 26 the program’s accreditation was on probation after a site visit from ACPE in April. Public notification of accreditation status is also on the ACPE website.
“First and foremost, the KU School of Pharmacy remains accredited by ACPE,” the email to students said. “This means that, when you graduate, you will graduate from an accredited school of pharmacy and will be eligible for licensure.”
The School of Pharmacy maintains accreditation through June 30, 2030, meaning current students will graduate from an accredited program unless the school’s accreditation is revoked upon review by the ACPE. A focused evaluation of the program will be scheduled for spring 2027.
Items reported as noncompliant include inadequate staffing, inadequate faculty strength to deliver components of curriculum, failing to follow meeting requirements outlined in school policies and transparency and communication issues, according to an ACPE report of proceedings from last month.
One item was reported as partially compliant “on the basis of failing to provide sufficient and timely disclosure of financial adequacy to deliver the Doctor of Pharmacy program.”
“The KU School of Pharmacy acknowledges the ACPE concerns, remains fully accredited, and is implementing sustainable improvements that strengthen the educational experience for our students and the future of the profession,” Dean David Dietz said in an emailed statement. “We take ACPE’s findings seriously and are actively implementing improvement plans across all Standards.”
School of Pharmacy communications director Hannah Cox said enrollment has steadily increased since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the school will welcome its largest first-year pharmacy class with more than 120 students this fall.
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Maya Smith (she/her), reporting intern, has worked with The Lawrence Times since February 2026. She was born and raised in Lawrence and is a journalism student at the University of Kansas. She works at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications as a communications assistant and has been a freelance reporter for the Kansas Reflector since 2024. Read her work for the Times at this link.
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