INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Invitation to Program

Administrators

CAATE Update and Open

Forum at ATEC

Succcessful CAATE

Accreditation Conference

Nominations for the Bob and

Lynn Caruthers Service Award

Standards Committee Met

in July

Accreditation Actions

Join ATCAS

CAATE to host electronic open

comment period regarding

the appropriate degree for the

entry-level athletic trainer

eAccreditation Updates

CAATE ACHIEVES CHEA RECOGNITIONAt the September 29-30, 2014 meeting,

the Board of Directors of the Council for

Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)

granted Recognition to the Commission

on Accreditation of Athletic Training

Education (CAATE).

The Council for Higher Education Accreditation is a national advocate and

institutional voice for self-regulation of academic quality through accreditation.

CHEA is an association of 3,000 degree-granting colleges and universities, and

recognizes 60 institutional and programmatic accrediting organizations.

The recognition process included a self-study, an on-site observation visit from

a member of the Committee on Recognition, a public comment period, and a

public hearing. The CAATE will undergo a full recognition review every ten years.

This is a major accomplishment for athletic training education and for the

profession of athletic training and is the result of the dedication and hard work

of CAATE commissioners and volunteers over the course of the last 10 years.

The recognition status is an affirmation of CAATE’s commitment to upholding

quality assurance standards, and a testament to the high quality of education

in CAATE accredited programs! Read the CHEA letter here.

CAATE JOINS WFATTThe CAATE was notified in November that they had

been accepted as an Associate Member of the

World Federation of Athletic Training and Therapy

(WFATT). WFATT is a coalition of athletic trainers, athletic

therapists, and other allied health care professionals

and organizations in the fields of sport, exercise, injury/

W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 E D I T I O N

I N S I G H TA PUBLICATION FROM THE COMMISSION ON ACCREDITATION OF ATHLETIC TRAINING

2 WWW.CAATE.NET

CAATE JOINS WFATT (continued)

illness prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation. The

WFATT seeks to promote the highest quality of health

care and functional activity through the collaborative

efforts of its members. President Laursen and Executive

Director Cuppett, attended the 2014 WFATT World

Congress in Dublin, Ireland. The CAATE is excited to join

the international athletic training community through

participation in the efforts of WFATT. The 2015 WFATT

World Congress will be held in St. Louis, Missouri on

June 20-22, 2015.

Dear Program Director/Chair/Dean:

In an ongoing effort to educate program administrators

on the Site Visit and accreditation processes, we are once

again inviting administrators to attend our site visitor training.

As you may be aware, the CAATE has made concerted

efforts to select and train our Site Visitors to assure quality

accreditation services. The administrators who attended

previous Site Visitor Training indicated that it was a very

positive experience and helped them understand both the

site visit and accreditation processes.

Therefore, we would like to invite program administrators

(Program Directors, Chairs, Deans, and Clinical Education

Coordinators) who are scheduled to have a Site Visit in next

few years to our next Site Visitor Training. Site Visit Training is

scheduled for Thursday, February 26, 2015 from 5pm to 8pm

and Friday, February 27, 2015 from 8am to 12pm in Dallas, TX

prior to the NATA Athletic Training Educator’s Conference

(ATEC). This is a pre-conference workshop that is by invitation

only. The fee for the workshop will be $200 per person.

Thursday evening’s session will

include Site Visitor Training. Friday’s

session for the administrators will be

in two sessions. The first session will

include both groups for a discussion

of the 2012 CAATE Standards

for Accreditation of Professional

Athletic Training Programs including

cases to illustrate compliance and

non-compliance with the Standards.

The second part of Friday’s session will be a breakout session

for administrators only to discuss strategies for a successful

site visit.

Please RSVP to Ashley (ashley@caate.net) by January 15, 2015

if you would like to attend. There are a limited number of

administrator slots available for this workshop, so the first

30 registrations will be accepted. Payment can be made

prior to, or at the time of the workshop. We look forward to

seeing you in Dallas!

INVITATION TO SITE VISITOR TRAINING FOR PROGRAM ADMINISTRATORS

CAATE President Laursen, and other members of the

Commission will be leading a discussion at the Athletic

Training Educators’ Conference in Dallas, TX. The changing

landscape of higher education including the reauthorization

of the Higher Education Act, along with the changing

environment in healthcare has created some challenges

that may impact AT Education. These changes, however

also present opportunities for innovation and quality in

our educational programs. Join us to talk about these

challenges and opportunities as well as an update of recent

CAATE happenings along with time for an open forum for

the audience to “ask the Commission”. The CAATE Update

and Open Forum will take place on February 27th, from

3:30pm to 5:30pm.

CAATE UPDATE AND OPEN FORUM AT ATEC

CAATE INSIGHT Fal l Edit ion 3

The CAATE would like to thank all of the presenters and

attendees of the first Accreditation Conference that took

place in Tampa, FL during October for helping to make it

a resounding success. The conference was attended by

6 Deans, 15 Department Chairs, 61 Program Directors,

20 CECs, and numerous other affiliated program faculty

from all over the country.

Highlights of the conference included:

• Explanations and clarification of the Standards for

all three program types, as well as a glimpse of how

future standards may be structured.

• The opportunity to work on program documents

specific to program and outcomes analysis, while

networking with peers to brainstorm for new ideas.

• Tips for developing a Self-Study and preparing for Site

Visits, as well as how to begin the Substantive Change

request for degree change

• A “how-to” session for Residency Program

development

• Information on how Deans and Department Chairs

can better aid in the success of their AT programs

• An open forum for attendees to ask the Commission

questions and solicit feedback on important issues.

Check out the photos from this year’s event. The CAATE

is already beginning to plan next year’s Accreditation

Conference which will take place in October of 2015;

specific dates and location to be announced soon.

CAATE ACCREDITATION CONFERENCE A SUCCESS

Attendees working on SWOT Analysis President Laursen and the Commission address attendees

Review of wording and intent of Standards

Dr. Gregory Frazer explains how to conduct a SWOT Analysis

Breakout Sessions allowed for Program specific work and networking

Social by the water after a full day

CAATE ACCREDITATION CONFERENCE PHOTOS

Geographical representation of attendees

4 WWW.CAATE.NET

The Bob and Lynn Caruthers Service

award is given to individuals that

demonstrate the character and

performance traits Bob and Lynn

Caruthers displayed in their respective

careers of significant and distinguished

service to professional and specialized

accreditation. Both Bob and Lynn

demonstrated excellence when working

directly with constituent institutions. This

award is intended to be a reflection

of the commitment to professional

education and service shown by

the Caruthers.

The CAATE invites and encourages

the peer and self-nomination(s) of

individuals that meet the award criteria.

Nominees should demonstrate a clear

and consistent record of excellence in

service to athletic training accreditation

and the CAATE. Emphasis must be

placed on the delivery of quality

accreditation services to accredited

programs and the institutions that

house them.

A letter outlining a nominee’s

professional work, especially focusing

on service to the CAATE and athletic

training education, a current vita, and

three letters of support demonstrating

significant and distinguished service to

the CAATE must be submitted. Both the

level of involvement with the CAATE and

the quality of that involvement will

be evaluated. Materials can be

submitted to Julie@caate.net by March

1st, 2015. The award will be presented at

the CAATE volunteer reception held at

the NATA Symposium and AT Expo. Date

and time TBD.

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR THE BOB AND LYNN CARUTHERS SERVICE AWARD

Working collaboratively with the Review Committee and

the Annual Report Committee, the CAATE’s charge to the

newly-formed Standards Committee is to establish and

execute a process for on-going review and revision of the

accreditation standards for professional, post-professional,

and residency programs in athletic training. The committee

gathered in July to discuss how to create an infrastructure

that will allow for periodic adjustments as well as larger

revisions of the standards on a regular basis and will

present this to the CAATE in the coming months. Other

topics included integration of the Institute of Medicine Core Competencies into the

professional education standards and how best to integrate professional knowledge

into the Standards. The results of this discussion were presented to the Commission at

the September meeting.

STANDARDS COMMITTEE MET IN JULY

INFO

RMAT

IONThe CAATE office will be closed for

the winter holidays from December

25th - 26th, as well as January

1st – 2nd. The office will be open

regular hours with limited staffing

December 29th-31st.

CAATE HOLIDAY HOURS

As of January 1, 2015 there will be

a slight change to the CAATE office

mailing address. The new address

will be 6850 Austin Center Blvd,

Suite 100, Austin, TX 78731.

CAATE MAILING ADDRESS CHANGE

You can now call the CAATE

toll free at 1-844-GO-CAATE

(844-462-2283).

CALL THE CAATE TOLL FREE NUMBER

CAATE INSIGHT Fal l Edit ion 5

The following accreditation actions were taken by the CAATE during the September Meeting in Charlotte, NC.

Review of Progress Reports received 6/01/14 from non-compliances noted on 2012-2013 Annual Report

Institution Standard Accreditation Action Resulting Program Action

Kansas State University 13 Non-Compliant Progress Report Due 12/1/14

McNeese State University 8 Non-Compliant Program Requested Reconsideration*

Methodist University 2 Non-Compliant Progress Report Due 12/1/14

Simpson College 8 Non-Compliant Program Requested Reconsideration

University of Central Missouri 8 Non-Compliant Progress Report Due 11/1/14

University of Hawaii, Manoa 2 Non-Compliant Program Requested Reconsideration

University of Louisiana at Lafayette 13 Non-Compliant Program Requested Reconsideration

Westfield State University 13 Non-Compliant Progress Report Due 12/1/14

* denotes institution that also had a response to a rejoinder/Site Visit submitted

Review of Rejoinders received from 2013-2014 Comprehensive Review & Site Visits

Institution Standard Accreditation Action Resulting Program Action

Alvernia University 29, 565 years Continuing Accreditation

Progress Report Due 1/9/15

College of Charleston 225 years Continuing Accreditation

Progress Report Due 1/9/15

Dominican College 115 years Continuing Accreditation

Annual Report to be reviewed

Life University None5 years Initial Accreditation

None

Lindenwood University 73, 99 Non-Compliant Program Requested Reconsideration

Loyola Marymount University 715 years Continuing Accreditation

Progress Report Due 1/9/15

McNeese University 53, 63, 71, 72 Non-Compliant Program Requested Reconsideration

Palm Beach Atlantic University 515 years Continuing Accreditation

Progress Report Due 1/9/15

University of Maine University of Maine Presque-Isle

505 years Continuing Accreditation

Progress Report Due 1/9/15

University of Nebraska Lincoln8, 9, 10, 12, 17, 23, 38, 46, 49, 51, 54, 61, 63, 65, 71, 72, 88, 89, 104

Non-Compliant Program Requested Reconsideration

University of New England 85 years Continuing Accreditation

Progress Report Due 1/9/15

University of Texas Permian Basin 905 years Continuing Accreditation

Progress Report Due 1/9/15

University of West Alabama 115 years Continuing Accreditation

Annual Report to be reviewed

Urbana University 63 Non-CompliantProgram is Voluntarily Withdrawing Accreditation & will have a Progress Report Due 1/9/15

ACCREDITATION ACTIONS

6 WWW.CAATE.NET

It is not too late to join ATCAS for this cycle! It has only

been live for two months, and already nearly a dozen

AT programs have completed an application cycle

using ATCAS. Other programs have already signed up

to prepare their Program’s site for their next application

cycle. The Athletic Training Centralized Application

System is a service provided by the CAATE at no charge

to programs. It allows for a more streamlined application

process for prospective students while improving

efficiency in admission efforts. It also has the potential to

increase the number, quality, and diversity of applicant

pools. There are several opportunities planned for

programs to learn more about ATCAS across the country

as well as via webinar. To see if there is a session that

you would like to attend check the ATCAS calendar of

events here: http://caate.net/atcas-administration/. If

you or your institutional administrators would like more

information about ATCAS please contact our partner at

Liaison International, Robert Ruiz, at rruiz@liaison-intl.com.

JOIN ATCAS

Review of Post-Professional Program Progress Reports

California University of Pennsylvania None Compliant None

The following accreditation actions were taken by the CAATE during the November Conference Call.

Review of Reconsideration Request from September Accreditation Actions

Institution Standard Accreditation Action Resulting Program Action

Simpson College 8 Compliant None

Review of Progress Report Regarding Program Director Change

Institution Standard Accreditation Action Resulting Program Action

Kansas Wesleyan University 16, 17 Non-CompliantProgram Voluntarily Withdrawing Accreditation, effective Spring 2016. Progress Report Due 6/1/15

ACCREDITATION ACTIONS (continued)

During the course of the last year, the CAATE heard from

many of you both formerly and informally at district

meetings and other gatherings about the future of

althletic training education. Early in the New Year, the

CAATE will be providing an opportunity for electronic

public comment regarding the appropriate professional

degree for the entry-level athletic trainer. An email with

the link to the open comment will be sent to program

administrators. Program administrators are encouraged

to forward the link to others who might be interested in

commenting. The comment period will remain open for

a minimum of 30 days once released, to ensure ample

opportunity for participation.

The CAATE recognizes the magnitude of this discussion, and

the responses garnered in this process will serve to further

inform us on the topic of the appropriate entry-level degree

for the profession. We encourage all involved parties to

participate in a thoughtful manner, and to provide specific

areas of benefit and concern to student preparation and

professional impact within their responses.

CAATE TO HOST ELECTRONIC OPEN COMMENT PERIOD REGARDING THE APPROPRIATE DEGREE FOR THE ENTRY-LEVEL ATHLETIC TRAINER

CAATE INSIGHT Winter Edit ion 7

EACCREDITATION UPDATES

Substantive Change Requests Go Electronic Substantive Change includes any major change in the

program. In order to maintain accreditation, the Program

Director must inform CAATE of any substantive change such

as the appointment of a new Program Director, a change in

the Program format, etc. The documents required for each

change are listed below in the appropriate category and

can be uploaded to e-Accreditation.

The following categories for substantive change

are available.

• Change of Program leadership where:

° Program Director is new faculty member

° Existing Program Director takes leave

of absence

° Existing faculty member appointed as

a permanent Program Director

° Other significant changes to leadership

• Major curricular changes

• Change in degree (including level of

the degree)

• Relocation of program (change in department,

school, or college)

• Change in school or institutional accreditation status

• Change in program resources from

the university

• Other

To submit a new substantive change request click ‘Add New Substantive Change.’

Program Director Changes

Institutional administrators are responsible to complete

a substantive change request and upload appropriate

documentation within 30 days of anticipated or actual

departure of the Athletic Training Program Director.

Failure to do so will result in the program being placed on

Administrative Probation. The CAATE Office will update

the Program Director information in eAccreditation after

review and acceptance of the appropriate materials.

All other program administrators may be changed within

e-Accreditation by the Program Director by adding a user

to the User tab and then selecting that user as an official on

the Officials tab.

8 WWW.CAATE.NET

EACCREDITATION UPDATES (continued)

Change of Degree

The CAATE has developed this substantive change– change

of degree at the request of programs voluntarily moving

their degree from the bachelors to the post-baccalaureate

degree level. This process is available annually to programs

that are mid-accreditation cycle and are in good standing

(i.e., not on probation). Programs should only submit the

notification of intent in the year they are planning on

applying for substantive change. Programs must submit

the notification of intent to change the level of the degree

by May 1st of the year in which they intend to submit the

Substantive Change Application. A $3000 review fee is

submitted with this document. The Substantive Change

document is due by August 1 of each year.

Benchmarking – to be released in December The benchmarking module was developed to allow

programs to compare their program data collected in

the Annual Report with the national averages as well

as peer programs. For all non-confidential fields, at least

one program must be selected for comparison. For all

confidential fields, a minimum of 5 programs must be

selected for comparison.

Benchmarking reports can be run for the following fields:

• Number of slots available for admission

• Number of completed applications for admission

• Number of students who were offered admission

• Number of students who entered the program

• Students enrolled by ethnicity

• Students enrolled by gender

• Core faculty positions

• Associated faculty positions

• Adjunct faculty positions

• Core faculty vacancies

• Associated faculty vacancies

• Standard teaching credit hours

• Standard teaching contact hours

• Credit hours assigned to the AT program director

• Contact hours assigned to the AT program director

• Credit hours assigned to the AT clinical education

coordinator

• Contact hours assigned to the AT clinical education

coordinator

• In State tuition

• Out of State tuition

• Total salary costs for faculty and for staff

• Number of students graduated from the program

Once you are logged in, navigate to the ‘Benchmark’ tab and ‘add report.’

Select which field to run the report for:

CAATE INSIGHT Winter Edit ion 9

EACCREDITATION UPDATES (continued)

You can then select the programs you wish to benchmark with and hit ‘save’ to run the report.

Program Directors,

Please remember to complete your Institutional and

Program Profile located in the ‘Profile’ tab in eAccreditation.

Be sure to include the College and Department/School in

which the program is housed as well as the requested urls

for program webpages. This will allow us to have updated

information on all programs.

• Click the Edit button. The form will open for editing,

and Save and Cancel buttons will appear (screen

shot below).

• Make your changes.

• Click Save. The form will close, and you will see a

message confirming that your work was saved.

eAccreditation: Institutional and Program Profile

All r ights reserved 2014. Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education

F O L L O W U S :6850 Austin Center Blvd., Suite 100 | Austin, TX 78731 – 3193 | 512-733-9700 | www.caate.net |

UPCOMING DATESJANUARY 10CAATE UPDATE AND OPEN FORUMEATA | SATURDAY12:00-1:00 PMPHILADELPHIA, PA

FEBRUARY 27CAATE UPDATE AND OPEN FORUMATEC | FRIDAY3:30-5:30 PMDALLAS, TX

JANUARY 15RSVP FOR PROGRAM ADMINISTRATORS TO ATTEND SITE VISITOR TRAINING

MARCH 1CARUTHERS AWARD NOMINATIONS DUE

Happy Holidays

The CAATE wishes a

happy and safe holiday

season to you all.

MARCH 1CBOC, NATA, CAATE, OPEN FORUMATEC | SUNDAYDALLAS, TX

MARCH 11CAATE WORKSHOP AT GLATA: DEVELOPING SYNERGY BETWEEN ACADEMIC FACULTY, CLINICAL FACULTY, AND PRECEPTORSWHEELING, IL

MARCH 5-7COMMISSION BI-ANNUAL MEETINGLAS VEGAS, NV