Fresno-area pharmacy students learned they can’t attend classes – days before school started

Freshman pharmacy students at California Health Sciences University in Clovis found out this week that they will not be attending the college after all, after its pre-accreditation status was withdrawn.

The decision affects 44 students who were set to begin classes on Monday, becoming the class of 2024.

The Doctor of Pharmacy program did not meet three of the 25 standards that the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education set and the school will have to restart the formal accreditation process, according to a statement from CHSU President Florence T. Dunn.

The 44 students are getting help to attend other pharmacy schools in the state.

“We have already contacted other California pharmacy schools who will be interviewing these students this week,” Dunn said. “We are committed to helping these students in any way we can to help them transition.”

The decision does not affect current College of Pharmacy students who are set to graduate 2021 through 2023.

The earliest the school might begin accepting new pharmacy students is fall 2022, Dunn said.

CHSU was the first pharmacy school to open in the central San Joaquin Valley when it did so in 2014, and it had been tracking toward accreditation since then, according to the president.

“We recognize how disheartening this news is to our faculty and staff, preceptors, and partners who have worked so hard to help build this program for our students,” Dunn said.

This story was originally published August 12, 2020 at 4:18 PM.