INTRODUCTION
The purpose of these standards is to ensure that ongoing and effective processes for quality assurance and improvement are in place and are subject to regular review.
MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR QUALITY MANAGEMENT OF PROGRAMMES
| (a) | The school must establish, implement and maintain an evaluation plan that assesses achievement of the mission and goals. |
| (b) | The evaluation plan must measure the extent to which the desired outcomes of the academic programmes (including assessments of student learning and evaluation of the effectiveness of curricula) are being achieved. |
| (c) | The information must be gathered in a systematic way from a variety of sources. Similarly, the extent to which the desired outcomes of research and other academic and service activities, including community engagement and pharmacy practice programmes, are being achieved must be measured. |
| (d) | The school must apply the outcomes of the analysis in its continuous development and improvement processes. |
| (e) | The evaluation plan must reflect a commitment to quality improvement through continuous and systematic processes of assessment and evaluation covering all aspects of the school’s mission and goals and Council accreditation standards. |
| (f) | The evaluation plan must be evidence-based and embrace the principles and methodologies of continuous quality improvement. |
| (g) | The evaluation plan and the specific assessments must be reviewed for completeness, appropriateness, and effectiveness by internal and external stakeholders on an ongoing basis. |
| (h) | The evaluation plan must include the school’s periodic self-assessment, using Council accreditation standards and guidelines to assure ongoing compliance. |
| (i) | The evaluation plan must describe the: |
| (i) | desired outcomes of the school’s mission and goals, including the educational programmes, research and other scholarly activities, professional and community service, interprofessional education, and pharmacy practice programmes. |
| (ii) | process and outcome assessments that will be evaluated, and with what frequency |
| (iii) | individual(s) responsible for data collection, analysis, and dissemination |
| (iv) | parties that will be responsible to receive and be authorised to act on the findings |
| (v) | manner by which resultant changes (for example revisions in the curriculum, modifications of faculty and student policies and procedures) will be implemented, evaluated, documented, and communicated |
| (vi) | comparisons that will be made with data from all Council accredited programmes and, if desired, a group of peer schools, with the basis for their selection |
| (vii) | resources (such as faculty, staff, preceptors, technical, financial, and physical) needed for successful implementation. |
| (j) | The assessments employed in the evaluation plan must: |
| (i) | include defined formative and summative measures |
| (ii) | address all aspects of the programme’s mission and goals |
| (iii) | involve the full range of relevant internal and external stakeholders, including faculty, students, staff, preceptors, administrators, and alumni |
| (iv) | permit anonymous input and provide for collective analyses of findings |
| (v) | be used to evaluate trends over time |
| (vi) | evaluate student achievement of desired competencies, in aggregate and at the level of the individual student |
| (k) | The institution/school must make available to key stakeholders, on a regular basis, the major findings and actions resulting from its evaluation plan through, for example, a written report or through a posting on its website. |
| (l) | The evaluation plan may include a variety of assessments that allow comparison and establishment of substantial comparability of alternative programme pathways to degree completion, including geographically dispersed campuses and distance-learning activities. |
MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
| 7.1.1 | Quality management system |
| (a) | A quality management system which includes at least the following aspects must be in place. |
| (i) | quality management policies defining quality aims |
| (ii) | quality management procedures which enable the school to implement the defined policies |
| (iii) | quality assurance processes that cover aspects related to admission, curriculum content, teaching and WBL delivery, clinical placements, assessment and research |
| (iv) | quality assurance processes that have effective input from all stakeholders |
| (v) | standard operating procedures for assessment and record-keeping activities |
| (vi) | review mechanisms which ensure that the defined quality management policies and procedures are applied. These may include surveys of graduate employers and other stakeholders to evaluate graduate competence and the performance of graduates in registration examinations |
| (vii) | reliable and valid research, which is incorporated into the quality management processes of the provider, to ensure continued improvement of course structure, content and presentation. |
NB: See Addendum 4 for the requirements and procedures of Council for the accreditation and reaccreditation of prospective and current providers (public and private).
