Site Visitor InSights

a monthly newsletter for Site Visitors

March 2026

Upcoming Dates

March 4 at 2 PM Central Time: Conversations with Site Visitors. View previous Conversations with Site Visitors here.

March 13 at 2 PM Central Time: Town Hall with the EMS Education Community. View upcoming Town Halls here.

by April 1: The July-September site visit schedule will be released.

May 27-31: ACCREDITCON in New Orleans. Register and use the site visitor discount code S26VR to save 50% (excludes pre-conference workshops).

View the list of upcoming webinars here.

Best Practices in Team Collaboration

Preparing for the Site Visit & Writing the SV Report

Preparing for the Site Visit



• Include team member(s) in the initial call with the program, if possible.
• Conversation with the team captain and team member(s) before leaving for the site visit.
• Review all the program materials, not just particular document assignments.
• Team planning caucus the evening before the site visit.
• Discuss integration of participation and leading conversations.

Writing the Site Visit Report

• Share your observations/thoughts throughout the day. Start a Word document to capture strengths, weaknesses, and any modifications to the template's findings language. This helps organize thoughts and check spelling and grammar. 
• Evening work session, if required. Either email the draft report to the team member for review, or join a web meeting (ex., Teams, Zoom) to review the language simultaneously. 
• If a work session is not required, email the report to the team member that evening for review. 
• Review/discuss the draft on the morning of day #2. 
• Once a ‘final’ draft is completed, email it to the team member before the exit session. 
• Consultation on areas of non-compliance, strengths, and recommendations
• When the Team Captain emails the report to Jennifer, include the team member(s) and specify if any changes or edits need to be made. This serves as the signature approval.
• Consider the new team members to complete a ‘shadow’ report to become more familiar with the process and standards.

Through the Site Visitors' Lens

The SV Report for the 2023 CAAHEP Standards includes template language for rationales and recommendations. The feedback has been strong from your peers:

Thank you for the standardization in wording. This will hopefully make it straightforward for everyone while still allowing some freedom and flexibility based on the SV findings. -- Bradley

Thanks for reaching out. Yes, have been using the template language and it has been working well. Very helpful. It does tremendously support the mission. -- Leslie

I really like the new format with the standardized language. It really makes the decisions easier. As nice as we try to be, the reality is that the evidence is not there. -- Jeff

…having a standardized language for how to say it helps shape the voice of the organization. As we were writing the site visit report, it felt very familiar to me, and I felt that the template language made it easier to write. I think it will give a common voice to the site visit reports. -- Chris

Reminders: Expense Reports

• Expenses for food are covered by your per diem. The only exception to this is if your travel is disrupted and you end up with an extra night.

• Submit within 14 days of the site visit. Any report submitted after 30 days will not be reimbursed.

What if...?

...the program has designated an individual as a lead instructor, and there is no satellite. Does the individual have to meet the lead instructor qualifications outlined in the Standards?

No. The program sponsor may use any title they choose for a position. The lead instructor's qualifications only apply when the program has a satellite campus.

...all the responsibilities of the Medical Director are met, except that students state they are not seeing or interacting with the Medical Director. Is this a finding per the 2023 CAAHEP Standards? 

No. With the 2023 CAAHEP Standards, the language was revised, and this is no longer a responsibility.

...the program is sponsored by a consortium, and the consortium members attend the Advisory Committee meeting. Can that count as the consortium meeting?

No.