For-profit Clovis university suspends pharmacy program after pre-accreditation denial
California Health Sciences University has suspended a pharmacy doctorate program at its for-profit school in Clovis after failing to obtain pre-accreditation.
The program welcomed its first cohort of students in 2014, but never gained accreditation and will now close after 2024. CHSU is owned by the Assemi family whose members are major developers in Fresno.
In August 2020, pharmacy students learned they wouldn’t be able to attend classes, after all, following the withdrawal of CHSU’s precandidate status for accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. The decision affected 44 students who would have been part of the 2024 graduating class. At the time, the impacted students were getting help to attend other pharmacy schools in the state. It’s unknown how many of them gained slots in other schools.
The pharmacy school did not meet three out of 25 standards for accreditation and CHSU had to restart its accreditation process. CHSU restarted the accreditation process with intent of being able to accept pharmacy students again this fall. But according to online records from the accrediting council, the school had its precandidate status denied under the new application process.
The program, again, failed on three standards. The three areas missed are curriculum design, delivery and oversight; faculty and staff qualifications; and pre-advanced pharmacy practice experience curriculum.
Flo Dunn, president of CHSU, said the three failed standards were “readily attainable,” but given other factors, school officials decided to suspend the program.
“We take our responsibility to build sustainable programs where future graduates have ample job opportunities very seriously,” Dunn said in a Monday news release. “We still believe local students need more accessible pharmacy education, and at the right time we might restart the pharmacy accreditation process. But for now, our priority is supporting the success of current pharmacy and medical students.”
The pharmacy program will be discontinued after the 2024 class, the release says. The decision to suspend the pharmacy program was made this past month, and in consultation with CHSU’s trustees, founders and top administrators.
“We are thoroughly committed to seeing our current pharmacy students become licensed and serve our region as professionals,” Dunn said in the release. “ We also plan to shift more focus into our medical program and begin exploring five other programs where the student demand and regional need are very high.”
Most staff will remain on board through the end of the program in 2024, according to the release. Those whose employment may end sooner have the option to stay through the end of the spring semester or later.
CHSU also has a College of Osteopathic Medicine with nearly 200 students, according to the release.
As early as next year, CHSU could begin to add more programs, such as a Master of Science degree, according to the release.
This story was originally published March 7, 2022 at 2:51 PM.
.jpg)