Athletic training seeks CAAHEP accreditation

by Jaclyn Roco
LV Life Editor

The University of La Verne Athletic Training Education Program recently applied for accreditation with the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs review board, which the University hopes to obtain for the program by next year.

The University's accreditation candidacy follows the rules CAAHEP instituted against universities allowing students to take the board exam- National Athletic Trainers' Association Board of Certification- prior to accreditation status.

Founded in 1989, ATEP was designed to train students entering athletic training fields professionally. Those perspective students were required to take the NATABOC; however, because ULV was not accredited with the CAAHEP, these students were not eligible to take the board exam unless they pursued an internship route.

Marilyn Oliver, ATEP director and professor of movement and sports science, said internship routes would be obsolete starting Jan. 1, 2004.

"Nationally, everybody has to be accredited," Oliver said. "Now all athletic training education programs in the U.S. must be accredited for students to be eligible to take NATABOC exams. We didn't have a choice."

Only those ATEP students who have met the cut off date for graduation before 2004 will be eligible to take the exam and practice in their field. These students will only be able to take the test if the University obtained accreditation.

All other students in ATEP who will graduate before 2004 will receive only their bachelor's for the Athletic Training Major. To take the test, they must attend an accredited master's program in athletic training, Oliver said.

"In a worst case scenario, if we didn't get accredited, for the sake of clarity then, we would still have the major or BS, but the students would not be eligible to take the National Board's," Oliver said. "We would have to be accredited (for that)."

This year there are five students who have been accepted into the new curriculum, Oliver said. The students are Vanessa Almaraz, Tanesha Atwell, Kira Au, Sara Kelly and Gabriela Macias.

These students, mostly juniors, underwent a special screening process sponsored by CAAHEP as part of ULV's candidacy for accreditation.

"This is definitely a turning point," she said. "It sets (ATEP) apart from the rest because students have to matriculate into the program."

Some of the requirements students must meet to join the new ATEP are completion of 30 semester hours, accumulation of a minimum of 2.5 overall GPA, and completion of a written essay and interview.

Also as a part of accreditation status, ATEP hired new certified athletic trainers to add to ATEP's qualified staff, Oliver said.

"Our curriculum is stronger now due to (meeting) the requirements for accreditation," she said. "The students have greater knowledge in athletic training than they had before."

Atwell, a sophomore in ATEP, said she was honored to be part of the new program. She said she experienced first hand training and proper medical treatment for minor injuries.

"I've learned a lot in the program," Atwell said. "It is more organized in structure and formatted better. I wanted to be a physical therapist, but I would love to work with sports players.

"This is a different experience," she said. "We're tested and put to our best. The best way is to learn, and we do hands-on training. The certified trainers are patient with us."

Junior Kira Au, a transfer from Mount San Antonio College, said she also likes the one-on-one attention she gets because the program is so small.

"I like the fact that you get the opportunity to apply what you're learning immediately," Au said. "The way the program is structured is you have a lot of practical application. I'd like to work as an athletic trainer in the college level, pretty much what the athletic trainers do here."

Due to the extensive list of requirements the new ATEP mandates for those interested, Oliver said that the program hopes to accept at least a maximum of 12 to 15 students each year.

Having more students, though, would be difficult because the program cannot handle more hands-on training, she said.

"The accreditation from my standpoint is tedious, but (we plan) to have a better product in the end," Oliver said.