The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education withdrew the accreditation of the pharmacy doctorate program at historically Black Hampton University in Virginia. The program had been on probation since January 2017.
Students currently enrolled in the program will be able to complete their studies and graduate from an accredited program, which will allow them to receive a license to practice pharmacy in the state if they pass the licensing examination. And the university has appealed the decision to withdraw accreditation. The program will retain accreditation during the appeals process.
One of the problems is a low passage rate for Hampton students on the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX). In 2018, only 73 percent of Hampton graduates passed the examination on their first try. This was the seventh-lowest rate in the country among the 130 accredited pharmacy schools. The national average was an 89 percent success rate. Hampton has made progress in this regard, the NAPLEX pass rate had been below 60 percent in 2016.
