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SCCP achieves milestone toward accreditation by Mary Helen Yarborough Public Relation The South Carolina College of Pharmacy (SCCP) has achieved a critical milestone in its accreditation process.   Last week, the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) awarded SCCP candidate status, which means that it has passed a critical second step in a three-step process for accreditation. Achieving candidate status provides graduates the same rights and privileges as those from a fully accredited program. The final accreditation step will occur after the first class of students graduates in 2010.   Vanessa McDaniel, a certified pharmacy technician, works with first year SCCP student, Stephanie Goodwin in the Rutledge Tower pharmacy. “This is an important step for the college,” said Joseph DiPiro, PharmD, SCCP executive dean. “It means that our graduates can become licensed pharmacists when they graduate. It shows that ACPE, the accreditation agency, believes that we can meet all the standards for the doctor of pharmacy program. Our faculty, staff and students have worked very hard to achieve this.”   SCCP, which combines the University of South Carolina and MUSC colleges of pharmacy, had to undergo full accreditation in August 2006 when the programs merged.   Both programs have existing accredited programs, and all of the remaining classes under their accredited programs will graduate by 2009.   For SCCP to pass the second step toward accreditation, ACPE officials judged the program on a variety of criteria, including the school’s mission and planning, organization and administration curricula; students and their support systems, admissions and retention rates; resources, such as buildings, libraries and financial resources; and the faculty, which included an assessment of their background and qualifications.   Stephanie Goodwin, a first-year SCCP pharmacy student from Goose Creek, was thrilled by the school’s passing the second phase of accreditation. “My mom was really relieved,” she said. She is attending SCCP’s Columbia campus and is in rotation at MUSC.   SCCP has 380 students enrolled between USC and MUSC campuses, 190 in each of the two class years. USC’s campus accommodates 110 students in each class, while MUSC has 80.   MUSC currently is working to make room for expansion for the burgeoning Charleston pharmacy program. By the end of the year, the administration offices located in the old College of Pharmacy Building will move next door into the newly-renovated antebellum Anderson House on Calhoun Street. The current administration space will become available for students and faculty. In the future, the proposed Drug Discovery Building will include research laboratories and practice labs for pharmacy students.     Friday, June 29, 2007 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.