The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) seeks nominations, by others or self-declared, for a Commissioner position on the ARC-PA. This position is reserved for a college/university Dean who will bring the perspective of graduate level health professions education.

The ARC-PA is the recognized accrediting agency that protects the interests of the public and PA profession by defining the standards for PA education and evaluating PA educational programs to ensure their compliance with those standards.

The ideal candidate should be:

A Dean of a school or college/university of health professions, medical school, or graduate degree granting health care institution, who may or may not have oversight responsibility of a PA program, with institutional or programmatic accreditation experience.

The commissioner is required to attend the meetings of the ARC-PA (March, June, and September), contribute to discussions about accreditation status of programs, participate in site visits to PA programs, and act as a member of ARC-PA committees or task forces. The term of appointment is three years with an opportunity for re-appointment for a second three-year term. For more information regarding the duties of a Commissioner, please refer to the ARC-PA website at:  http://www.arc-pa.org/commissioner-responsibilities/

The Dean commissioner may not derive his or her livelihood from the Physician Assistant profession.

Travel and other direct costs related to the public commissioner attending regular, special or committee meetings, workshops or site visits are paid by the ARC-PA. Commissioners receive no compensation for their services.

The term of office will begin January 1, 2022. The first official commission meeting of the term is

March 3-5, 2022. Newly elected commissioners are to also expected to attend the summer 2022 Accreditation and You Workshop June 23-25, 2022 (location TBA) as a participant and the January 2022 commission meeting as a guest.  Attendance and participation at these meeting will provide orientation to the processes and work of the commission.

Nominations and applications, accompanied by a resume and a statement describing how the candidate’s experience and background will add to the evaluation of PA programs, should be forwarded via e-mail to: commissioners@arc-pa.org  before or by July 1, 2021.  Commissioner election will occur at the September 2016 commission meeting. Applicants will be notified of the results shortly after the meeting.