Changes to FPGEC Certification Program Coming in 2020

NABP will be making changes to the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee™ (FPGEC^®) Certification Program in first quarter 2020.

Current and Future Candidates

• The Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination^® (FPGEE^®) will be offered once per year. As a result, the April 2, 2020 FPGEE has been canceled. The next scheduled FPGEE will be on October 7, 2020. Candidates whose applications expire after April 2, 2020, but before October 7, 2020, will have their application expiration date extended so that they have the opportunity to test. Those candidates who qualified for the April 2020 FPGEE will be eligible to take the October 2020 exam if the candidates have not engaged in misconduct.
• Registration information for the October 2020 examination will be available by May 2020.

Candidates Who Submit Applications After November 27, 2019

• FPGEC candidates will be required to take and pass Educational Testing Service’s (ETS’s) Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-based Test (TOEFL iBT) before they will be eligible to sit for the FPGEE.
• TOEFL iBT scores will be valid for two years. This aligns with ETS’s score validity policy for that exam.

Security and Misconduct

NABP has reassessed examination security related to the FPGEE and is instituting FPGEC program modifications to meet its security goals. Candidates are reminded that cheating on the FPGEE or any other NABP examination is strictly prohibited. Misconduct includes, but is not limited to, selling, offering, disclosing, requesting, purchasing, gaining access to, or receiving examination content without specific NABP authorization. Individuals are expressly prohibited from engaging in misconduct in connection with any NABP exam. See the FPGEC Candidate Application Bulletin on NABP’s website for details.

Test preparation programs that offer or disclose actual NABP examination questions or NABP exam content or that solicit NABP test questions from candidates are operating illegally. Candidates who participate in these programs are at risk of:

• disqualification from the FPGEC Certification Program;
• invalidation of their FPGEE score;
• closure of their FPGEC application; and/or
• being reported to the boards of pharmacy and appropriate agencies such as the United States Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Disclosing NABP examination content and sharing of NABP test questions (in whole or in part) are prohibited under NABP examination policies set forth in the FPGEC Candidate Application Bulletin and NABP’s examination non-disclosure agreement, which candidates agree to in order to participate in the FPGEC Certification Program and take the FPGEE. For more information about examination misconduct and actions that NABP may take when candidates engage in misconduct, please review the FPGEC Candidate Application Bulletin on NABP’s website.

To continue maintaining the security of the FPGEE, NABP has taken the following actions:

1. No new FPGEC applications will be accepted until program changes can be implemented.
2. The FPGEE will be offered only once per year, effective immediately.

What to Expect in 2020

The FPGEC application was removed from the NABP website on November 27, 2019, so that program changes can be made. An application reflecting the program changes is expected to be available in first quarter 2020.

• Current candidates will be evaluated under the program policies and procedures that were in place prior to November 27, 2019. These policies and procedures are stated in the current FPGEC Candidate Application Bulletin.
• Candidates who apply in first quarter 2020 and thereafter will follow the new policies and procedures that will be posted when the application is reinstated.

An updated Application Bulletin will be provided and will detail the program changes for new candidates in first quarter 2020.

For more information, contact fp@nabp.pharmacy or Customer Engagement.