PA School Accreditation – Does it Matter?
Posted By: Kubin | Coaching, Tools, and Resources
If you’ve visited our PA Program Directory, you may have noticed our focus on PA program accreditation. What is accreditation? How important is it? If you want to become a physician assistant, this is important stuff. So here goes…
What is PA School Accreditation?
Basically, its stamp approval by ARC-PA, the Accreditation and Review Commission on Physician Assistant Education. ARC-PA is an independent agency that sets standards for all schools that educate and train physician assistants. When PA programs comply with or meet these standards, they are said to be accredited. It’s a little like the FDA approving a new drug; their approval implies that drug is safe, ethical to use, has been manufactured properly, and may be sold.
When a PA program is accredited, it means that it meets professional standards for things like:
- Program organization – the faculty are duly licensed, there is a Director, there is at least one full-time support staff member, etc).
- Curriculum – students will be learning the proper material, in the proper sequence, and will be tested in a standardized way.
- Clinical preceptorships – the hospital and other specialty rotations will be adequately supervised in appropriate settings, you will be protected from lawsuits, etc.
- Site matters – the learning environment has restrooms, computers, it is safe to be in, etc.
and many others. PA schools are usually re-accredited every five years, which means that every five years they need to demonstrate to ARC-PA that they continue to meet its standards. If they need to work on their program, they can be accredited for a shorter period to “motivate” them to make the needed changes.
How Important is PA School Accreditation?
To put it bluntly, it’s crucial. In order for you to practice as a PA, you must become nationally certified by passing the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE) You can’t sit for that exam unless you start PA school in a program that has been accredited by ARC-PA. Period*
This is a requirement of the profession, and it assures that 1) PAs are well and appropriately educated, and 2) students don’t get ripped off in the process. Because of the accreditation process, your Uncle Goober can’t throw a sketchy program together and start collecting tuition. Schools are accountable to ARC-PA by the accreditation process or they can’t admit new students.
Types of Accreditation
In order to be eligible to sit for the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE) after school, you must graduate from a school that was accredited when you matriculated (when you started). Schools can lose that status if they don’t comply with ARC-PA’s standards, and that means they cannot accept new students. There are actually 5 different types of accreditation for PA programs. The ones you will see most commonly are:
Accreditation — Provisional
A temporary status limited to two years, granted when a program holding a status of accreditation-provisional or accreditation-continued does not meet the Standards and when the capability of the program to provide an acceptable educational experience for its students is threatened. Once placed on probation, a program that fails to comply with ARC-PA’s requirements in a timely manner may be scheduled for a focused site visit and/or risk having its accreditation withdrawn.
Accreditation — Continued
A status granted 1) when an accredited program is in compliance with the standards, 2) in the case of a program that is probationary when the program has demonstrated that it is once again in compliance with the standards, or 3) when a provisional program demonstrates compliance with the standards after completion of the provisional review process. Continued status remains in effect until the program closes or withdraws from the accreditation process or until accreditation is withdrawn for failure to comply with the standards.
Accreditation — Probationary
A temporary status of accreditation limited to two years, granted when a program holding a provisional or continued status does not meet the standards and when the capability of the program to provide an acceptable educational experience for its students is threatened. Once placed on probation, a program that fails to comply with ARC-PA requirements in a timely manner it may be scheduled for a focused site visit and/or risk having its accreditation withdrawn.
Questions to Ask
If you’re considering a school, you should find answers to the following questions (most of them before you interview):
- What is your program’s accreditation status? If it is provisional, how much longer (of the max 5 years) can it remain provisional?
- If it is probational, when will that probation be re-evaluated? You might ask them (in your interview) just what they are doing to assure they will have their status changed to Continued.
- How long has the program been continuously accredited? The longer the better, generally.
- When is the program up for review of its status?
These questions will give you a feel for the health of the program. And remember: accreditation doesn’t tell you much about how good a program is; it only tells you if it has met the minimum standards for the profession as defined by ARC-PA.
*The only PA programs that don’t need to follow ARC-PA’s standards are the ones run by the military. The military sets standards for its PA programs, and they are responsible for maintaining their quality of education.
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Nice article.
So what will be the implications on the students in this scenario:
– Students are enrolled in the PA program that is currently on probation (final probation with no more extension) and the comprehensive review is due before their graduation date.
– And school may loose their accreditation during the comprehensive review.
I am thinking that they would still be eligible to appear in PANCE exam. But not sure about the implications of graduating from an unaccredited college.
In all but the most egregious cases, students would graduate, but the next year’s class would be put off until they met the standards.
I could see scenarios (the egregious ones) where students would need to transfer to another program in order to graduate and be eligible for the PANCE.
So in the case where students would need to transfer, does a school organize it for students or students need to find on their own? Will it impact on finding a job in any state after graduation?
The reason I am asking this is – there is a college on probation currently and i have an interview with them. So not really sure what to do if i get selected and how will it drive my future? I have been doing a lot of research regarding accreditation stuff. So any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
I have applied for and been accepted by a program on “Probation” status. Their next review is after I would start the program in the Summer of 2015. Do you have any statistics on the number of schools who have been placed on “Probation” status and then subsequently lost their accreditation?
Any insight into the PA Program at Towson University?
Thanks.
Not official numbers. But it’s actually pretty rare that a program doesn’t get its act together when they’re on probation. ARC-PA gives them pretty specific steps to take to get off of probation.
I have been looking at schools to apply for and came across the University of North Carolina which has Provisional status Accreditation. Does that mean I should not apply there because it is not accredited? Or will it be accredited by the time I enroll/graduate? Is there any way to tell how long until full accreditation is reached?
There’s always a slight risk with provisional schools, but the chances of them not becoming accredited are exceedingly small. Provisional status means that they have been informed exactly what they need to do to become fully accredited, and if they do it, they can expect full accreditation. It’s usually the status for newer schools that are on the right track.
This is a very insightful article and has helped me in deciding my schools to apply to this spring.
I live in California, and there are some newer developing programs around my area with the status “Developing-Not accredited” on the PAEA program directory. If I happen to apply to these schools and their status remains “developing” or “provisional” at the time of my matriculation, (and I am the first inaugural class), would I still be able to sit for the PANCE?
I have been asking many of my friends in PA schools and have been receiving mixed answers. I have also checked the ARC website which states : “In order to be eligible to take the PANCE, students must successfully complete a program that was accredited at the time the student matriculated.”
Ultimately, my motivation for wanting to apply to these schools is because they are really close to home and I would be saving tons of money compared to going out of state, I feel that I might be gambling with these schools. I fear that if I am accepted and i do attend, and for some reason into my clinical year, their status is still not accredited, i would be in trouble. Please let me know your thoughts, thanks!
New schools can’t get accreditation right away. If it’s a reputable institution, such as University of the Pacific, for example, you know that they are probably doing everything necessary to become accredited, and have every reason to expect that they will obtain it in time to start classes. But there is always the theoretical risk that they will not become provisionally accredited in time for you to start. In that case, you can’t start class until their accreditation is granted, and that could be another year. In this case, you will need to weigh the feeling of confidence of the program and the reputation of the institution against the other schools that you are offered admission to. You might decide that you feel safe that they will make it happen, and that if they are your favorite program, you should take the risk. If they’re not your favorite program, or if you have concerns about their chances of gaining accreditation, then you might want to go with another school that wants you. In the case of UOP, the program is run by Mark Christiansen, who chaired my program at UCD when I was there. He’s an extremely capable guy, is a past officer (president?) of CAPA and AAPA, so I think that should reassure you. It’s a bit of a gamble, so weight the odds an the stakes before you make your decision.
If a foreign-educated M.D. who has practiced medicine outside of the U.S. for 20+ years wants to become a P.A. in the U.S. can the requirement of completing an accredited program be waived/ replaced by examination?
Thank you.
Sadly, no. PA programs will almost all require you to do everything that every other student does, because it is an accreditation requirement for their program. I have seen former medical students and foreign medical graduates exempted from certain PRE-requisite courses.
If you enter a PA program with Provisional status and they become accredited AFTER you graduate, can you still sit for the PANCE when they are accredited, even though they were not accredited when you graduated?
No. You need to graduate from an accredited program, or you cannot sit for the PANCE.
If I enter a PA program with Provisional status and they become accredited while I am still attending, can I sit for the PANCE when I graduate?
Yes. Accreditation — Provisional means they are accredited for a shorter period but are expected to be approved for the longer period soon if they keep doing things according to the ARC-PA standards. The requirement is that you graduate from a program that was accredited (continuing, provisional, or even probationary) when you STARTED PA school. Most schools start provisional and then become continuing.