Dec. 7, 2016

Accreditors are being called upon by the public and government to improve transparency in the reporting of program outcomes. Specific federal requirements have been set forth by both the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. To align our Standards with other accreditors, the Commission asked the Standards Committee to review this Standard and recommend changes. The Standards Committee suggested and collected feedback on Standards relative to program outcomes data collection and reporting for all program types. The final changes are as follows:

Professional Program Standards (changes italicized and in red):

Standard 7: Assessment Measures: The program must collect data for the following assessment measures:

• The program’s BOC examination aggregate data for the most recent three test cycle years must be provided and include the following metrics: Number of students graduating from the program who took the BOC examination, number and percentage of students who passed the examination on the first attempt, and overall number and percentage of students who passed the examination regardless of the number of attempts

• The program’s employment/placement rate for the most recent three graduating cohorts within 6 months of graduation. (This will use the student employment/placement categories currently available within student profiles in eAccreditation)

• The program’s retention and graduation rates for the most recent three academic years.

(Retention rate (modified from United States Department of Education): Measures the percentage of students who have been admitted to the professional program who return to the institution to continue their studies the following fall.)

(Graduation rate (taken from United States Department of Education): Measures the progress of students who began their studies as full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking students by showing the percentage of these students who complete their degree or certificate within a 150% of “normal time” for completing the program in which they are enrolled.)

The proposed changes to Standard 7 would subsequently impact Standard 8, although the wording of Standard 8 would remain the same: Standard 8: Assessment Measures: Programs must post the data from Standard 7 on the program’s home page or a direct link to the data must be on the program’s home webpage.  All the changes to the outcomes Standards as listed above will be implemented on July 1, 2018 (to allow ample time to enhance eAccreditation to support in tracking and tabulating this data) and will affect all program types.  

Post - Professional Degree Program Standards (changes italicized and in red):

Standard 15. Assessment Measures: The program’s aggregate institutional data (as defined below by the CAATE) for the most recent three years must be provided.

• The program’s employment/placement rate for the most recent three graduating cohorts within 6 months of graduation.

• The program’s retention and graduation rates for the most recent three academic years.

(Retention rate (modified from United States Department of Education): Measures the percentage of enrolled students who are seeking post-professional degrees who return to the institution to continue their studies the following fall.)

(Graduation rate (taken from United States Department of Education): Measures the progress of students who began their studies as full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking students by showing the percentage of these students who complete their degree or certificate within a 150% of “normal time” for completing the program in which they are enrolled.)

Standard 16: Assessment Measures: Programs must post the aggregate institutional data (as defined in Standard 15 by the CAATE) on the program’s home page or a direct link to the data must be on the program’s home webpage. All the changes to the outcomes Standards as listed above will be implemented on July 1, 2018 (to allow ample time to enhance eAccreditation to support in tracking and tabulating this data) and will affect all program types.  

Post-Professional Residency Program Standards (changes italicized and in red):

Standard 21: Assessment Measures: The residency program’s aggregate organizational data (as defined below by the CAATE) for the most recent three years must be provided.

• The program’s employment rate in athletic training for the most recent three cohorts within 6 months of program completion.

• The program’s retention and completion rates for the most recent three academic years.

(Retention rate (modified from United States Department of Education): Measures the percentage of accepted residents who are seeking who return to the institution to continue their studies the following fall.)

(Completion rate (modified from United States Department of Education): Measures the progress of residents who began their studies as full-time residents by showing the percentage of these residents who complete their program within a 150% of “normal time” for completing the program in which they are enrolled.)

Standard 22: Assessment Measures: Residency programs must post the aggregate organizational data (as defined in Standard 21 by the CAATE) on the residency program’s home page or a direct link to the data must be on the residency program’s home webpage. All the changes to the outcomes Standards as listed above will be implemented on July 1, 2018 (to allow ample time to enhance eAccreditation to support in tracking and tabulating this data) and will affect all program types.