April 2022
From the President
Florida Bill Has Relevance for the Accreditation Community
As of the writing of this article, Florida Senate Bill 7044 has passed both houses of the Florida legislature and is awaiting the signature of the governor. Although CAAHEP is not an accreditor recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, there are provisions of this legislation that could have a significant impact on Florida schools, their programs, and institutional accreditors. The following are some of those provisions and my comments about them.
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By September 1, 2022, the [Florida] Board of Governors or the [Florida] State Board of Education, as applicable, shall identify and determine the accrediting agencies or associations best suited to serve as an accreditor for public postsecondary institutions. Such accrediting agencies or associations must be recognized by the database created and maintained by the United States Department of Education. |
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There is no mention of accrediting bodies recognized by the Council for Higher Education (CHEA) in the above bill section. CHEA has submitted written comments urging the Florida legislature and governor to add to this section of the legislation a reference to the list of accrediting organizations recognized by CHEA. |
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A public postsecondary institution may not be accredited by the same accrediting agency or association for consecutive accreditation cycles. In the year following reaffirmation or fifth-year review by its accrediting agencies or associations, each public postsecondary institution must seek and obtain accreditation from an accrediting agency or association identified by the Board of Governors or State Board of Education, respectively, before its next reaffirmation or fifth-year review date. |
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This is perhaps the most controversial, and the most widely discussed, element of SB 7044. An argument against this requirement is that changing accreditors every accreditation cycle would be unduly burdensome for schools and would not improve the quality of education. Supporters of the bill have asserted that changing accreditors could provide new perspectives that would benefit schools and their students. |
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The requirements of this subsection are not applicable to those professional, graduate, departmental, or certificate programs at public postsecondary institutions that have specific accreditation requirements or best practices, including, but not limited to, law, pharmacy, engineering, or other similarly situated educational programs. |
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Exempting these programs is an important component of SB 7044. |
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If a public postsecondary institution is not granted candidacy status before its next reaffirmation or fifth-year review date, the institution may remain with its current accrediting agency or association. |
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This language seems to have been overlooked in analyses of SB 7044. It allows a school to remain with its current accreditor if it “is not granted candidacy status before its next reaffirmation or fifth-year review date.” |
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CAUSE OF ACTION —A postsecondary education institution negatively impacted by retaliatory action taken against the postsecondary education institution by an accrediting agency or association may bring an action against the accrediting agency or association in a court of competent jurisdiction and may obtain liquidated damages up to the amount of federal financial aid received by the postsecondary education institution, court costs, and reasonable attorney fees. |
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This legal remedy alerts accrediting bodies that they can be sued for taking retaliatory action against a school. It also informs schools of a cause of action available to them.
Because CAAHEP is a programmatic accreditor, the passage of Florida SB 7044 would likely not have a direct impact on CAAHEP, its committees on accreditation, and its accredited programs. However, if this legislation were to impose substantial monetary and personnel costs on Florida schools, this could divert resources from all programs of the school—including allied health programs accredited by CAAHEP.
Donald A. Balasa, JD, MBA
CEO and Legal Counsel, American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA)
2021-2022 CAAHEP President
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Attend the Annual Business Meeting of the Commission |
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The CAAHEP Commission will hold its Annual Business Meeting virtually on Friday, April 29, 2022, at 3:00 PM Eastern. The meeting is open to anyone, however, only Commissioners or a designated alternate may vote on Commission business. Commissioners and guests must register to attend the meeting. The agenda includes:
Financial Statements:
To receive and review the financial statements, budget, and the auditor’s report for the year ended 30 June 2021.
Nomination and Elections of Board Members:
To consider, and if thought fit, to re-elect members of the Board of Directors:
- Catherine Carter – Sponsoring Organization Representative
- Don Martin – Educational Programs
- Keith Orloff – Committee on Accreditation Representative
To elect a member of the Board of Directors representing the following membership category: At-Large Educational Institutions
No nominations were received by 3/18/2022
Review of the 2021 CAAHEP Annual Report
President’s Report:
An update on the activities of the Commission by the Board of Directors President, Donald Balasa
Executive Director’s Report:
A report of CAAHEP staff activities by the Executive Director, Gina Scarboro
New Business:
To consider any other ordinary business that may be properly brought before the meeting.
For additional information about the meeting, please visit the CAAHEP website. Please contact Gina Scarboro, Executive Director, if you have any questions.
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Paying Tribute to Douglas York |
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It is with heavy hearts that we share with you the passing of one of CAAHEP's strongest supporters and volunteers. Our dear friend and colleague Doug York passed away on March 25, after being diagnosed with terminal cancer just a few months ago.
The Committee on Accreditation of Emergency Medical Services Professions (CoAEMSP) staff shared the following notice, "Doug was integral to the work of the CoAEMSP for the many decades he was involved with accreditation. He served as a board member, chair of the board of directors, site visit team captain, Zoom technical host, technical consultant, reader, commissioner to CAAHEP, and in many more roles.
Doug impacted all of us in one way or another with his dedication to EMS, fine and gentle manner, and ability to make us laugh.
Doug has made all of us better because of his involvement, and as a result, EMS is better because of it."
In addition to his work with the CoAEMSP and serving as its Commissioner, Doug served on the CAAHEP Board for six years, was a reliable and active committee member and liaison to two Committees on Accreditation, and led many of CAAHEP's workshops, seminars, and webinars. He was the recipient of CAAHEP's highest honor in 2020, the William W. Goding Award for Exceptional Service.
As so many of you knew Doug, we're proud to pass along information on the CoAEMSP tribute wall where you can share what Doug meant to you. Please visit: https://coaemsp.org/a-tribute-to-doug-york to share your thoughts.
Doug always greeted you with a ready smile, kind words, and usually an awful Dad joke. We will miss him greatly.
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The CAAHEP Board of Directors met on March 18, 2022, and addressed the following items:
- took accreditation actions for 65 programs
- approved hiring a strategic planning facilitator to assist in creating the 2022-2025 Strategic Plan
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approved the Standards and Guidelines for the Accreditation of Educational Programs in Medical Assisting
- approved new Policy 209 - Instructional Modalities, discussed the Satellite policy, and a new definition section being developed for the CAAHEP Policy and Procedures Manual
- appointed three new Commissioners (see related article below)
Written reports were provided by each Board Committee and staff reported that the July Board meeting, strategic planning session, and CoA Summer Workshop will be held at the B Resort Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
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Board Appoints New Commissioners |
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The role of a Commissioner is to
- approve bylaws, mission, and vision statements of CAAHEP;
- determine whether an occupation is eligible to participate in the CAAHEP system;
- approve new sponsoring organizations and Committees on Accreditation;
- monitor the Board of Directors' development of accreditation standards and activities to assure the quality and equity of CAAHEP's accreditation practices;
- and seek to achieve national recognition as an accrediting agency through appropriate national and/or international recognized agencies as deemed necessary.
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Please join us in welcoming three new CAAHEP Commissioners, who were appointed by the Board at its March 2022 meeting:
Proprietary Institution Commissioner Katherine Benz-Campbell, Co-Director, Assistant Director, American Institute of Medical Science and Education, Piscataway, NJ
Hospital/VA Educational Commissioners Richard Palma, Director & Clinical Coordinator, Duke School of Medicine, Durham, NC, and Thomas Platt, Program Director, Associate Dean, and Vice-Chair, University of Pittsburgh, Center for Emergency Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
Glen Mayhew, Dean of Institutional Effectiveness, Radford University Carilion, will continue in his role as the third Hosptial/VA Educational Commissioner for another term.
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New Online Forms Available to Programs |
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CAAHEP has developed two new online forms for programs to request inactive status or voluntary withdrawal of accreditation. Please be sure to review and follow the required processes in requesting inactive status or voluntary withdrawal, which are provided on CAAHEP's website.
Inactive Active Status
Accredited programs may request a period of inactive status by voluntarily submitting a CAAHEP Request for Inactive Status electronically via the CAAHEP website. During inactive status, no students may be enrolled or matriculating in the program. The program must continue to pay all CoA and CAAHEP fees. A program may remain inactive for up to two years. If additional time is required, the institution shall submit to the Committee on Accreditation (CoA) for consideration a documented plan with timelines for reactivation of the program. Read more
Voluntary Withdraw
CAAHEP accreditation is voluntary and a program is considered for accreditation only at the written request of the program sponsor. A program sponsor may also request voluntary withdraw of accreditation at the written request of the chief executive officer of the program sponsor and by completing and submitting the CAAHEP Request for Voluntary Withdraw electronically via the CAAHEP website. Read more
Please contact CAAHEP if you have any questions.
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CHEA Publishes a New Video |
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The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) has produced a new video, "CHEA: Who We Are," explaining the organization and its work with higher education accreditation and quality assurance. The two-minute video is designed to promote understanding of CHEA's value not only to member institutions but also to students, parents, and society.
CAAHEP is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. As the largest programmatic accreditor of allied health education programs, CAAHEP goes through a thorough CHEA review of our policies and processes to assure its effectiveness in advancing academic quality and serving higher education, students, and the public.
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Each profession in the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) system has a Committee on Accreditation (CoA) that consists of experts in the profession that are responsible for reviewing programs and making appropriate recommendations for accreditation to CAAHEP. CAAHEP reviews recommendations received from its CoAs in each profession, assures due process was followed and takes final action on an accreditation status.
CAAHEP took the following actions on March 18, 2022. Actions are identified by profession, action taken, date of the next comprehensive evaluation, and whether a progress report to improve program compliance is required. In some cases, the concentration and/or degree are also specified. Where available, links to each program's website are provided below. To view a copy of the most recent accreditation award letter for a program, which includes information about the accreditation decision, visit the program’s listing on the Find An Accredited Program section of the CAAHEP Website.
The following programs were found to be in compliance with the accreditation Standards and Guidelines and were granted continuing accreditation, with the next comprehensive evaluation to occur no later than 2027. These actions require no progress report and were approved on the consent agenda.
Emergency Medical Services-Paramedic
Orthotist/Prosthetist
The following programs were found to be in compliance with the accreditation Standards and Guidelines and were granted continuing accreditation, with the next comprehensive evaluation to occur no later than 2029. These actions require no progress report and were approved on the consent agenda.
Cardiovascular Technology
The following programs were found to be in compliance with the accreditation Standards and Guidelines and were granted continuing accreditation, with the next comprehensive evaluation to occur no later than 2030. These actions require no progress report and were approved on the consent agenda.
Medical Assisting
The following programs were found to be in compliance with the accreditation Standards and Guidelines and were granted continuing accreditation, with the next comprehensive evaluation to occur no later than 2031. These actions require no progress report and were approved on the consent agenda.
Medical Assisting
The following programs were found to be in compliance with the accreditation Standards and Guidelines and were granted continuing accreditation, with the next comprehensive evaluation to occur no later than 2032. These actions require no progress report and were approved on the consent agenda.
Diagnostic Medical Sonography
Polysomnographic Technology
The following programs were found to be in compliance with the accreditation Standards and Guidelines, with one or more Standards requiring a progress report to be submitted to the appropriate Committee on Accreditation (CoA). The programs were granted continuing accreditation, with the next comprehensive evaluation to occur no later than 2026.
Kinesiotherapy
The following programs were found to be in compliance with the accreditation Standards and Guidelines, with one or more Standards requiring a progress report to be submitted to the appropriate Committee on Accreditation (CoA). The programs were granted continuing accreditation, with the next comprehensive evaluation to occur no later than 2027.
Emergency Medical Services-Paramedic
The following programs were found to be in compliance with the accreditation Standards and Guidelines, with one or more Standards requiring a progress report to be submitted to the appropriate Committee on Accreditation (CoA). The programs were granted continuing accreditation, with the next comprehensive evaluation to occur no later than 2029.
Medical Assisting
The following programs were found to be in compliance with the accreditation Standards and Guidelines, with one or more Standards requiring a progress report to be submitted to the appropriate Committee on Accreditation (CoA). The programs were granted continuing accreditation, with the next comprehensive evaluation to occur no later than 2031.
Medical Assisting
The following programs were found to be in compliance with the accreditation Standards and Guidelines and were granted initial accreditation with the next evaluation to occur no later than 2027. These actions require no progress report and were approved on the consent agenda.
Anesthesia Technology
Diagnostic Medical Sonography
Exercise Science
Intraoperative Neurophysiologic Monitoring
Medical Assisting
The following programs were found to be in compliance with the accreditation Standards and Guidelines and were granted initial accreditation with the next evaluation to occur no later than 2030. These actions require no progress report and were approved on the consent agenda.
Art Therapy
The following programs were found to be in compliance with the accreditation Standards and Guidelines, with one or more Standards requiring a progress report to be submitted to the appropriate Committee on Accreditation (CoA). The programs were granted initial accreditation with the next evaluation to occur no later than 2027.
Medical Assisting
CAAHEP voted to withhold accreditation from the following program, due to non-compliance with one or more Standards. Programs are given the opportunity to appeal actions to withhold accreditation, so this action is not yet final. This list will be updated with the final action, once determined.
Diagnostic Medical Sonography
Southwest University at El Paso, El Paso, TX (General)
CAAHEP voted to correct the concentration to which accreditation applies for the following program. The program holds initial accreditation remains in place until another action is taken by CAAHEP.
Exercise Physiology
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Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs
9355 - 113th St. N, #7709, Seminole, FL 33775-7709
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