This study aimed to examine the opinions about the general education process and accreditation awareness of students studying in accredited and non-accredited Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation (PTR) undergraduate departments. Ninety-one students studying in accredited departments and 104 students studying in non-accredited departments participated in the study. A survey form prepared by the researchers, adapted from literature, was used in the study. The survey included two sections: General education and functioning of the department (5 questions) and opinions on accreditation (12 questions). Students studying in accredited departments knew the accreditation concept better than students in non-accredited departments (p= .001). It was reported that students in accredited departments were more satisfied with the level of education and training provided by the department and the opportunities it offered to students (p.05). It was also seen that students in non-accredited departments were more likely to think that accreditation provided advantages in terms of going abroad, education, and professional equality (p.05). The students’ responses to the items about their overall satisfaction, participation in management and consulting process, accreditation requirement, impact of accreditation on education, physical conditions, facilitation, horizontal transition, and employment were similar between accredited and non-accredited departments (p.05). The results show that students studying in PTR departments have high awareness of the benefits of accreditation, such as equal opportunities in education, improvement of education and training levels, and employment. Our results also emphasize that student representation should be considered in decision-making processes.
Korkusuz et al. (Fri,) studied this question.