AACP continues to partner with Certiphi Screening to offer a centralized criminal background check process in PharmCAS. Schools have the option of signing an agreement with Certiphi to conduct a background check and/or drug testing of applicants. Only PharmCAS applicants who choose to accept an offer of admission from a participating program are prompted to complete a check through Certiphi.
Since 2018 AACP has supported a Certiphi fee waiver program for financially disadvantaged applicants who accepted an offer from a participating program and were also granted a PharmCAS application fee waiver during the same cycle. Unfortunately, the Certiphi fee waiver will no longer be offered during the 2023-2024 (next) admissions cycle. With the exception of AMCAS for medical school students, no other centralized application service (CAS) covers the cost of background check fees for applicants. Since background checks and the associated fees are required for all health profession students, there is no known evidence that this expense could discourage applicants from pursuing their chosen profession or program. To limit background check fees for accepted applicants, the AACP Board of Directors previously approved a move to a fixed fee for the PharmCAS background check administered by Certiphi. The current fee is $72.70 and does not vary based on the applicant's number of previous residences or the third-party fees assessed by state and county courts.
Separate from the Certiphi fee waiver for criminal background checks, AACP will continue to fund the PharmCAS application fee waiver to support financially disadvantaged applicants who apply. All eligible applicants who applied for a PharmCAS application fee waiver during the 2021-2022 (previous) cycle received one.
Learn more about the PharmCAS criminal background check process and contact AACP at cas@aacp.org with any questions.
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Libby J. Ross, MA
AACP Senior Director for Student Affairs
703.479.3809,
Lross@aacp.org------------------------------