Howard's Doctor of Pharmacy Program on Probation

Howard University's doctor of pharmacy program has been put on probation by the national accrediting agency, leaving some students worried about whether their educations are at risk.

"It does not mean we're not accredited," said Interim Dean Beatrice Adderley-Kelly, who met with School of Pharmacy students Friday to reassure them that their degrees are not in jeopardy. "We are in probationary status, and we're taking steps to make sure that it's removed."

The pharmacy school is accredited through the end of the 2006-07 academic year by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, the independent agency that evaluates such programs to ensure quality and standards.

School officials had been working to solve issues raised by the council but learned this month that they had not done enough.

If the school fails to comply, then the accreditation could be yanked.

One of the agency's major concerns "had to do with our space needs," including classroom areas, Adderley-Kelly said. "Increasing enrollment has affected our space."

The school operates out of a four-story building constructed on the main campus in Washington in the mid-1950s and in an annex next door, according to the school's Web site.

Since 2002, four of the 25 medical residency programs at Howard's hospital have lost accreditation, including emergency medicine and pediatrics, and three others were voluntarily withdrawn from accreditation by the university.

Several of the residency programs, which provide specialized training after medical school for new doctors, continue to operate on qualified status.

The School of Pharmacy, which offers professional and graduate degree programs, is part of Howard's early history: The first student to graduate from the university, in 1870, received a doctor of pharmacy degree.