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California Health Sciences University announced Monday the decision to suspend the launch of a more rigorous, 3-year Doctor of Pharmacy program.

CHSU had hoped to begin the new program this fall, but the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education recently said three of the 25 standards required still need to be met.

CHSU President Flo Dunn said that achieving the three remaining ACPE standards is readily attainable. However, other factors ultimately determined the decision to suspend. Most notably, the growing scarcity of pharmacy jobs and a continuing local and nationwide decline in pharmacy school applications, according to a news release.

“We take our responsibility to build sustainable programs where future graduates have ample job opportunities very seriously,” President Dunn said. “We still believe local students need more accessible pharmacy education, and at the right time we might restart the pharmacy accreditation process. But for now, our priority is supporting the success of current pharmacy and medical students.”

Nearly 250 students have graduated from CHSU’s current, 4-year Doctor of Pharmacy program. But that program will be discontinued after graduation of the 2024 class.

The decision to suspend pursuit of the replacement 3-year pharmacy program was made over the past month in a series of meetings by CHSU’s trustees, founders and top administration.

President Dunn said, “We are thoroughly committed to seeing our current pharmacy students become licensed and serve our region as professionals. We also plan to shift more focus into our medical program and begin exploring five other programs where the student demand and regional need are very high.”

Most employees in the pharmacy program are being retained for the remainder of the term. Any pharmacy employee not staying until 2024, has the option to stay until the end of spring semester or a later designated date. Dunn said she hopes they consider applying for other open positions at the university.

CHSU offers a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine program that has nearly 200 students in its first two cohorts. A third cohort of more than 150 is expected to enter this fall. And as early as 2023, President Dunn said, the university could begin the process of adding the next health care specialty colleges, including a Master of Science degree program.