Accreditation

Regional

Methodist University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award associate, baccalaureate, master’s, and doctorate degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404.679.4500 for questions about the accreditation of Methodist University.

Program

The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) has granted Accreditation-Continued status to the Methodist University Physician Assistant Program sponsored by Methodist University. Accreditation-Continued is an accreditation status granted when a currently accredited program is in compliance with the ARC-PA Standards.

Accreditation remains in effect until the program closes or withdraws from the accreditation process or until accreditation is withdrawn for failure to comply with the Standards. The approximate date for the next validation review of the program by the ARC-PA will be September 2027. The review date is contingent upon continued compliance with the Accreditation Standards and ARC-PA policy.

The program’s accreditation history can be viewed on the ARC-PA website.

Program History

1994: The Methodist University (then Methodist College) faculty and Board of Trustees voted to develop a Bachelor of Science Physician Assistant Program at Methodist University.

April 1996: The program receives provisional accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs.

May 1996: The program admits its first class of four students, making us the third established PA program in the state of North Carolina.

May 1998: The program graduates the first class of physician assistants.

October 1998: The program receives full accreditation.

April 2000: The faculty and Board of Trustees voted to approve the transition of the PA Program from a bachelor’s level to a master’s level program.

August 2001: The program admits our first class of master’s level students. Methodist University continued to run a dual program at the bachelor’s and master’s level through the fall of 2003. The program’s last incoming bachelor’s class was the fall of 2003.

December 2003: The program graduates its first class of master’s degree students.

Fall 2010: Methodist University opened the doors to a Medical Lecture Hall facility and Anatomy lab. The Medical Lecture Hall facility is home to all didactic classes and houses a 161-seat lecture hall, with four breakout classrooms. The human anatomy lab experience is a critical component of the didactic year and lays a strong foundation for the program’s curriculum.

2015: The program joins the School of Health Sciences, which houses other health science programs:

  • Bachelors Level: Athletic Training, Kinesiology, Health Care Administration, and Nursing
  • Doctorate Level: Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy

May 2016: The program celebrates its 20 year anniversary.

Present: The program currently admits 40 students per cohort and has graduated over 500 students.