Programs are to submit all materials as indicated in the application packet to the ARC-PA eight weeks prior to the scheduled site visit.
The chief administrative officer of the sponsoring institution, the Program Director, and the Medical Director, must sign the materials submitted.
Copies of the application and all required appendices, and site visit schedule templates are available in the Application and Forms page of this section.
The Accreditation Resources page of the web site contains important information from ARC-PA presentations at national meetings aimed at helping programs prepare for their ongoing self analysis, prepare for site visits and develop syllabi.
The Accreditation Manual for the Standards, 4th edition is available in the Standards section of this web site.
Accredited programs pay an annual accreditation fee, billed each year in December.
During the year of its accreditation visit, the program pays an accreditation application fee. The site visitors’ direct expenses for these visits are covered by the ARC-PA.
A copy of the current fee schedule is available here..
Programs that cancel their visit within sixty days of their scheduled visit will be responsible for any expenses associated with the visit that have been incurred by the ARC-PA.
Checks should be made payable to the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant and accompanied with a letter confirming the payment, the date, and the check number. The payment and cover letter should be sent to the ARC-PA office at 12000 Findley Road, Suite 150, Johns Creek, GA, 30097.
Programs applying for accreditation are required to provide documentation of an ongoing self-study process. Self-study is a formal, structured, critical, self-evaluation process which longitudinally examines the program's structure and substance; evaluates the program's overall effectiveness relative to its stated goals and objectives; identifies program strengths and weaknesses; and delineates a specific plan for necessary and desired modifications and improvements. There should be evidence of involvement of the appropriate constituencies in the self-analysis process, including representatives of the administrative staff of the program and its sponsoring institution, teaching faculty, preceptors, residents, graduates, students, advisors, and others as needed. The process should include an assessment of the extent to which the program is in compliance with the established standards, the Standards. The Self-Study Report, which is the document detailing the process and the findings, is submitted as Appendix 13 of the continuing accreditation application.
Upon receipt of a written request for an accreditation site visit from the program administration, mutually convenient dates for the site visit are determined and a site visit team is assigned.