Exploring the Relationship Between Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant Administration Standards and Sponsoring Institution Attributes in Physician Assistant Programs

Introduction This study investigates the relationship between Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant Standard A (Administration) citations and the attributes of sponsoring institutions for physician assistant (PA) programs. It also explores the association between initial program accreditation date and Standard A citations. The hypothesis suggests that resource levels, infrastructure, and clinical enterprise relationships of different institution types influence compliance with Standard A requirements. Methods Data on accreditation citations were obtained from publicly available sources on arc-pa.org, while sponsoring institution attributes were retrieved from Physician Assistant Education Association Data on Demand. The study included 309 PA programs with citations recorded from September 2020 through September 2023. Descriptive statistics summarized key characteristics, and chi-square tests examined relationships between categorical variables and Standard A citations. Analysis of variance assessed associations between initial accreditation year and Standard A citations, with significant results analyzed using the Tukey Honest Significant Difference test ( P < .05). Results Of the 309 programs analyzed, 63 received Standard A citations, primarily for “Fair Practices and Admissions” (31), “Institution Responsibilities” (27), and “Program Director” (30). Programs housed in nonacademic health centers were more likely to receive citations (23.1%) compared with those in Academic Health Centers (AHCs) (7.4%). Significant associations were found between AHC status and both Institution Responsibilities (Χ2(4) = 4.098, P = .043) and overall A Standard citations (Χ2(4) = 8.167, P = .004). Discussion Findings suggest that PA programs in nonacademic health centers are over 3 times as likely to receive Standard A citations. Although causation cannot be inferred, AHCs may inherently provide greater resources that enhance compliance with Administrative Standards.