Site Visit Information and Materials
(4.2.07, page reviewed 3.10)
An evaluation team can conduct a thorough and accurate assessment of the clinical postgraduate PA educational program in one full day. Site visits should provide the site visit team member(s) information on the program, and should provide the team the opportunity to meet and discuss the program with its administration, faculty, staff, instructors, preceptors, and PA residents.
The primary responsibility of the site visit team is to verify, validate, and clarify, if necessary, the information supplied by the program in its application materials. The purpose of the site visit is to assess the program's demonstrated compliance with the accreditation standards.
While the actual schedule may vary somewhat from program to program, the types of activities included in the schedule should be the same. The visitors need to have an opportunity to discuss the program with its faculty, preceptors, current PA residents, graduates of the program, employers of program graduates.
The Program Director must consult with the site visit team chair before final scheduling occurs. This is best handled when the team chair has a copy of the proposed schedule in hand.
Sample outline of schedule (PDF) 3.18.10
Detailed visit schedule with rationale (PDF) 3.18.10
Site Visit template for team (PDF)
Site Visit Protocol (PDF) (updated 10.08)
Required documentation for visit (PDF)
The program should review the Accreditation Resources page for other helpful documents related to syllabi and objectives, competencies, analysis, and corresponding with the ARC-PA.
The program should review the information developed for entry level PA programs about organizing materials for a site visit. Note that references in this PDF document are for entry level Standards, but the concepts of organizing materials apply to all programs.