ROANOKE, VA (JULY 3, 2025) — The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) Board has approved the Appalachian College of Pharmacy’s (ACP) instructional site at the Roanoke Higher Education Center (RHEC) in Roanoke, VA.
ACPE is responsible for the accreditation of pharmacy programs in the United States, ensuring quality in pharmacy education. ACPE conducted a site visit at the Roanoke center in May. A small cohort of students will be chosen to participate in the new distance learning initiative provided through the partnership with RHEC. A similar distance learning initiative is offered by ACP through the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center (SWVHEC) in Abingdon, VA.
“We are so pleased to have received the accreditation news on our planned programming at the Roanoke Higher Education Center,” said ACP Provost and Dean, Dr. Susan Mayhew. “We look forward to beginning this new chapter with the higher education center and to all the opportunities for growth it affords to ACP and to the higher ed center.
“ACP offers the Commonwealth’s only accelerated three-year program leading to a Doctor of Pharmacy degree and we also offer a Doctor of Public Health program and a certified pharmacy technician program,” Mayhew continued. “We are excited to partner with the Roanoke Higher Education Center on this initiative and selected it as a location for an ACP off-campus site because of its successful record of serving higher education, as well as for its proximity to numerous undergraduate colleges and universities.”
As a result of the partnership with RHEC — which was formalized earlier this year through a lease agreement — and the recent ACPE accreditation, current ACP students completing their first year of pharmacy school will be given the opportunity to apply for the distance learning option in Roanoke and if selected, will begin classes at the Roanoke, Va.-based facility in the Fall of 2025.
“As a native Roanoker and Cave Spring High School graduate, bringing pharmacy education to the greater Roanoke Valley has been a professional dream of mine for decades,” said Dr. Andy Bowman, ACP assistant dean of strategic partnerships and engagement, who will also serve as the RHEC site coordinator.
“The already well-established healthcare degree programs at Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM), Virginia Tech, Carilion, Radford University and others, provide an excellent opportunity for partnership, collaboration and interprofessional education,” Bowman noted in February. “This move is a huge win for Southwest Virginia, Appalachian College of Pharmacy, the Roanoke Higher Education Center and pharmacy education.”
The new program to be offered through the RHEC will see all ACP students complete the first three terms of the curriculum in person on the Oakwood campus prior to matriculation to the Roanoke Higher Education Center for completion of the didactic curriculum.
“This format will allow incoming students the opportunity to get to know their classmates, campus-based faculty and staff; as well as the opportunity to be oriented and engaged with student support services, student organization and outreach initiatives prior to the transition,” Mayhew said.
A set of criteria to select students as eligible to participate in the program has been developed and takes into account, among other things, academic standing, faculty recommendations and geographical need or interest of the student.
The curriculum will be delivered to students at both the center and on the Oakwood campus using in-person and synchronous video conferencing that allows for real-time interaction between students and faculty.
“The distance site will provide students within the Appalachian region more flexible learning opportunities, a broadened footprint for outreach activities and expanded inter-professional education opportunities with other health disciplines currently at the center,” Mayhew said.
ABOUT THE APPALACHIAN COLLEGE OF PHARMACY: The Appalachian College of Pharmacy is the only three-year Doctor of Pharmacy program in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Founded in 2003, the college accepted its first students in 2005. It is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Its mission is to cultivate a learning community committed to education, community outreach and the professional development of pharmacists. Its graduate pharmacists are now practicing throughout the United States.
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PHOTO CAPTION: The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) Board recently approved the Appalachian College of Pharmacy’s (ACP) instructional site at the Roanoke Higher Education Center (RHEC) in Roanoke, VA. A lease agreement with RHEC, marking the official start of the partnership which will see ACP classes offered at the Roanoke center in addition to being offered at the college’s Oakwood campus was signed in February. On hand for that signing were, from left, RHEC Senior Director of Academic and Student Affairs, Dr. Carla L. James; RHEC Executive Director Kay Dunkley; ACP President Mickey McGlothlin; ACP Provost and Dean, Dr. Susan Mayhew; and ACP assistant Dean of Strategic Partnerships and Engagement, Dr. Andy Bowman, who will also serve as the RHEC site coordinator.
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