ONLINE SURVEY
Comments are being accepted via an online survey available here.
 

Comments sent by U.S. Mail, email, and faxes are NOT accepted.

Comments are being solicited from the EMS community for the "Proposed Annotated CAAHEP Standards for EMSP" through a listening session to be held via GoToMeeting.

If you are the Program Director of a CAAHEP Accredited Paramedic Program, you received an email from lynn@coaemsp.org last month providing you the username and password to the CAAHEP Annual Report. If you did not receive that email, contact Lynn at lynn@coaemsp.org.
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When you complete the 2014 annual report if you do not meet one of the targeted thresholds in the Threshold Report Summary, you will be required to submit the Standardized Progress Report (SPR) Form for the threshold not met.

Consistent with CAAHEP/CoAEMSP's outcomes oriented approach to accreditation, all accredited programs annually submit an Annual Report (AR) that includes program information, results of the outcomes assessments specified in CAAHEP Standard IV.B.1 and the programs' analyses and action plans to address any sub-threshold results in those outcomes.

Each year the CoAEMSP reviews each AR and initiates an accreditation dialogue commensurate with the results of the outcomes assessments. As part of that review for each of the outcomes, the CoAEMSP is evaluating Thresholds, which are numerical values against which programs' outcomes results are compared.

For 2014, CoAEMSP reviews the 3-year average of outcomes results for graduates in 2013, 2012, and 2011. In case of sub-threshold performance (number, severity, and duration), in addition to the program's required detailed analysis and action plan, the CoAEMSP is requiring a Standardized Progress Report (SPR) (more detailed analysis and action plan) as part of the accreditation dialogue. For 2014, the CoAEMSP will focus on the threshold for:

The required/applicable SPR should be completed for EACH Threshold not met.  It will be due by March 1, 2015.

The annual accreditation fee will increase by $200 effective July 2015. The $200 increase allows for improvements to be made for increased efficiency, service, and tools to make the accreditation process easier for programs. Improved and extended services include:

• Dedicated executive staff for site visits to expedite the accreditation process
• Additional staff to handle operations for the significant increase in CAAHEP accredited programs
• Increased responsiveness, service, and  efficiency
• New site visit management tools  and other technological improvements to help Program Directors manage site visits and other accreditation tasks online

"By the time the fee increase goes into effect, it will be nearly a decade since annual fees were raised," states CoAEMSP Executive Director George Hatch.  "This increase lets us serve our programs with the proper staff, resources, and cutting-edge technology."

"While other committees of CAAHEP might charge as much as $2,500, we are committed to keeping ours as low as possible, and raising fees only when absolutely necessary," says CoAEMSP Chair of the Board Doug York.

A  Site Visit Management Module (SVM) built expressly for the CoAEMSP will dramatically change the way site visits are documented, executed and controlled. The system will greatly increase the efficiency and accuracy of site visits.

Login Screen for Site Visit Managment Module

Because the site visit program is being built expressly for the CoAEMSP, the customized software will better serve the purposes of site visits as opposed to using an existing off-the-shelf product. The Site Visit Management Module will control the site visit process by identifying the site visit date with the program, building a site visit team, and managing the site visitor profile. The program will also serve as a repository for all documents related to a site visit including the self study report, site visit report, expense report, Standards, Interpretations, and more.

The Site Visit Management Module is currently in the development stage and is scheduled for release sometime in 2015. Training sessions will take place with program directors and site visitors at that time.

The CoAEMSP's long term goal is to develop an Accreditation Management System (AMS), which will further revolutionize the accreditation process by organizing, documenting and managing the entire accreditation process. When fully operational, the CoAEMSP online community will provide a centralized location for institutions, on-site evaluators, and CoAEMSP Board and committee members to both access and provide information to the CoAEMSP. The Site Visit Management Model is the first step toward this ultimate goal.

More information will be shared as the unveiling of this exclusive program gets closer.

The Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) accreditation is outcomes oriented. Standard IV.B.1 (Outcomes Assessment) defines the minimum outcomes that must be measured and tracked by accredited Paramedic programs. Each year, programs report their outcomes results to CoAEMSP in the online Annual Report. For each outcome, the Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for the Emergency Medical Services Professions (CoAEMSP) has defined thresholds (minimum percentages) that must be met by programs. The purpose of thresholds is to guide programs and CoAEMSP in monitoring these measures of the effectiveness of the program in meeting its goals and learning domains. The annual reports are an integral part of the accreditation process, in addition to the comprehensive reviews (i.e., self study report, site visit) that occur every 5 years.

Read more...

Assessment of program resources is to be performed at least annually (Standard III.D) using the Student Resource Survey instrument and the Program Personnel Resource Survey instrument as well as any other program assessment activities. Programs are to use the Resource Assessment Matrix format to define their assessment system, collate the assessment results, and develop action plans to address deficiencies.

To assist program directors with analyzing the data collected from administering student and personnel resource surveys, a Program Resource Surveys Template was created. This spreadsheet tallies numbers from the surveys and prepares the Resource Assessment Matrix for analysis and completion. The worksheet contains locked cells. If you need to alter the worksheet you will need to unlock the cells.  Go to the review tab in the ribbon and select Unprotect Sheet.  The password is: unlock (case sensitive).  When you have finished with your alterations, it will be important to relock the sheet.  (Although you can use any password, unlock is the simplest and makes future use of this workbook more user friendly.)
 

This tool is offered as a sample and an option for program directors.

To request a copy of questions in the SurveyMonkey format for the Students, Program Personnel, Graduates, and Employers survey instruments, you must be a SurveyMonkey professional plan holder. Email your program's name, program number, and SurveyMonkey Username to lynn@coaemsp.org.

               

Learn more.

This 2-day workshop is designed to assist instructors in appropriately evaluating students in all domains as well as complying with CAAHEP accreditation Standards related to student evaluation. This workshop has an online pre-course component that is approximately 4 hours in length. For this session, it is advised that participants have access to the NAEMSE Textbook, Foundations of Education: An EMS Approach 2nd edition (available for purchase from NAEMSE; $70. To order the text book contact NAEMSE at 412-343-4775). Learn more.

Workshop session.