OXFORD, Miss. – This year’s Doctor of Pharmacy graduates at
the University of Mississippi have posted a 100 percent
pass rate on their first attempt at the North American
Pharmacist Licensure Examination.
The NAPLEX is the examination used by boards of pharmacy
nationwide as their assessment of competence to practice
pharmacy.
“This is a great achievement for the 2007 graduates,” said
Marvin C. Wilson, associate dean for academic and student
affairs. “It is also a high honor for the School of
Pharmacy to be tied for the No. 1 ranking among all
pharmacy schools with regard to the NAPLEX pass rate. We
are proud of these new practitioners who have worked hard
over the last four years. This is also a great
accomplishment for our faculty, and also a testament to the
format and content of our curriculum and to our admissions
procedures.”
The average scaled score of Ole Miss graduates was 14
points above the national average, according to the
National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, which
administers the test. The maximum possible score on the
NAPLEX is 150, and UM students scored an average of 130.
During the last six years (2002-07), only five UM Doctor of
Pharmacy graduates have not passed the NAPLEX exam on their
first attempt, resulting in an average pass rate (on first
attempt) of 99 percent. In four of these years, UM
graduates posted a 100 percent pass rate.
The announcement of graduation rates tops an already
stellar year for the school. Earlier this year, the school
reported a No. 2 ranking among pharmacy schools for total
extramural funding awarded for research, according to a
report compiled by the American Association of Colleges of
Pharmacy.
“It is a remarkable and historic achievement to be tied for
a No. 1 ranking for pass rate on the licensure exam and to
hold the No. 2 ranking for external funding for research in
the same year,” said Barbara G. Wells, dean of the pharmacy
school. “The school is achieving new heights, and the
credit goes to students, faculty, preceptor faculty, staff
and loyal alumni and friends of pharmacy.”
For more information on the School of Pharmacy, go to