PROFESSIONAL PROGRAM ACCREDITATION APPLICATION
Accreditation Application Process
There are several essential documents to review when considering accreditation of a professional program in athletic training. The Standards and Procedures for Accreditation provides step-by-step instructions to professional athletic training programs that wish to pursue or maintain accreditation. Within the same document, outlines the specific standards that must be met by all accredited programs. Its purpose is to explicitly define the requirements to achieve and maintain CAATE accreditation of professional athletic training programs.
Accreditation is a voluntary, non-governmental peer review process that strives to ensure quality, accountability and encourage programmatic improvement. By requesting accreditation, the sponsoring institution of the degree program agrees to be assessed against the Standards and abide by the CAATE’s policies and procedures. The sponsoring institution of an accredited program must comply with these documents and use them to examine, improve upon, and report on its program’s growth and achievement. Accreditation involves a collegial process of self-review and peer review, involving five major activities:
- A self-evaluation (self-study) by an institution or program using the Standards found on this website and culminating in submission of a self-study report to the CAATE.
- A peer review of the self-study and the institution during a site review to confirm the accuracy of the self-study and gather additional evidence of quality that will be submitted to the Review Committee.
- A recommendation by the Review Committee to the CAATE who will make a final decision regarding accreditation.
- Annual Reports to ensure quality assurance, quality improvement, and innovation.
- Progress and Analytics Reports
More information about applying for accreditation can be found within the Standards and Procedures for Accreditation document.
More information on using eAccreditation can be found here.
With respect to in person or phone conversations with program consultants or any third party, the CAATE will communicate with outside parties regarding a program only with the program director or an administrator present.
Continuing Accreditation Timeline
Programs that are continuing accreditation will automatically begin the comprehensive review process on the following timeline:
- The self-study module will automatically open in eAccreditation July 1 in the year before accreditation expires and be due July 1 the following year. (For example, if the program’s accreditation cycle ends in 2022-2023, the self-study will open on July 1, 2021 and would be due July 1, 2022).
- Upon final submission of the self-study the program will automatically be invoiced the non-refundable self-study/site visit fee. Review of self-study materials will not begin until payment is received.
- Following receipt of payment, the program’s peer review team will be assigned and review of materials will begin. The peer review team and program director will coordinate to select review dates (available dates range from October 1 – April 15).
- Additional details about the continuing accreditation process can also be found within the Standards and Procedures for Accreditation document.
Additional questions about this process can be directed to support@caate.net
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