CAAHEP Communiqué December 2012

In the December 2012 Issue

Open Hearing Scheduled

Annual Meeting Keynote

Annual Meeting Dates

Recognized with Gratitude

From the President

CAAHEP Presidents Recognized

CAAHEP Board Meeting Highlights

Accreditation Actions

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CAAHEP Members & Commissioners

Open Hearing Scheduled

An Open Hearing for the proposed Standards and Guidelines for the Accreditation of Educational Programs in Intraoperative Neurophysiologic Monitoring will be held on Thursday, January 24, 2013, at 5:30 PM (EST) at the Embassy Suites, 555 N. Westshore Boulevard, Tampa, FL. If you wish to comment on the proposed Standards, please do so in writing to Kathleen Megivern no later than 5:00 PM (EST) on January 18, 2013. You can view the proposed Standards on the CAAHEP website.

In addition, the Standards and Guidelines for Educational Programs in Personal Fitness Training have been posted to the CAAHEP website. These Standards have changes to template language only. The public comment period will end January 19, 2013. To view these Standards, please visit the CAAHEP website.

Annual Meeting Keynote

Emergency preparedness expert, Ralph M. Shealy, MD, FACEP, FAAEM, will give the keynote address at the CAAHEP 2013 Annual Meeting, April 14-15, 2013, Francis Marion Hotel, Charleston, SC.

Mark Your Calendar

CAAHEP 2013 Annual Meeting

April 14-15, 2013

Francis Marion Hotel, Charleston, SC

Recognized With Gratitude

It is with gratitude that CAAHEP recognizes Sondra Flemming and Dan Points for their service to the Commission.

Sondra Flemming, a former Board member and Past President, recently completed her service as Liaison to the Cytotechnology Program Review Committee.

Dan Points, who also served as a Board Member and CAAHEP Treasurer, has completed a term on the Standards Committee. Dan continues to serve as a Liaison to the Accreditation Review Committee for the Medical Illustrator.

Thank you, both, for your service to CAAHEP.

CAAHEP Policy Manual

The CAAHEP Policy and Procedures Manual has been updated through December 2012, and is posted to the CAAHEP website.

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From the President

Cameron Harris,
RPSGT

As 2012 draws to a close, it is a good time to thank those individuals who volunteer their time and talent to the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs. CAAHEP could not function without those "unsung heroes" - the hundreds of volunteers who do the work for Committees on Accreditation and those who serve as Commissioners providing a vital link with our sponsor organizations. On behalf of the CAAHEP Board of Directors and staff, I wish you all a very happy, healthy, and safe New Year.

I would also like to take this opportunity to recognize two exceptional volunteers. LaCheeta McPherson and Sondra Flemming have both given many years of service to CAAHEP including terms as president. This past year the National Network of Health Career Programs in Two-Year Colleges (NN2) established the Janell Lang Leadership Award. Sondra and LaCheeta were selected as the initial co-recipients of this award (see the article below). Congratulations and thanks for your contributions to these two strong leaders. Read more about the award later in this newsletter.

In addition to our volunteers, there are organizations that play a key role in the success of CAAHEP. The allied health professions who collaborate with CAAHEP as accreditor of their educational programs depend on the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) as the entity that provides third party recognition of our accreditation process. CHEA is an organization with membership composed of 3,000 colleges and universities that provides non-governmental recognition for 60 institutional and programmatic accrediting organizations. You may recall that CHEA renewed its recognition of CAAHEP after a rigorous evaluation in 2011, but the value of our relationship with CHEA extends beyond that of recognition. CHEA's purpose also includes providing leadership, data and forums relative to issues of mutual interest among educators and accreditors; and to advocate for accreditation and educational quality.

Recognition of accreditors was originally provided through agencies created by educational institutions in collaboration with accreditors. Since the middle of the last century, however, the U.S. Congress has played an increasing role in the recognition of accreditors through mandates to the Department of Education.

Former CAAHEP

Presidents Recognized by NN2

In October, two former CAAHEP Presidents were recognized by the National Network of Health Career Programs in Two-Year Colleges (NN2) for their leadership and service in that organization. CAAHEP Past Presidents Sondra Flemming, MS, and LaCheeta McPherson, PhD, MLS(ASCP)cm were the first-ever recipients of the Jannell Lang Leadership Award, which was presented during the Annual NN2 Conference in Annapolis, MD.

The Janell Lang Leadership Award recognizes an individual who has provided exceptional leadership to NN2 during at least five years of participation in the organization. The award is named in memory of Janell Lang, an exceptional leader, who offered many years of devoted service to NN2 and also served as a CAAHEP Commissioner.

During the presentation of the Award, the following excerpt from the nomination process was shared, by NN2 President and CAAHEP Board Member, Carolyn O'Daniel, EdD, RRT:

"Lacheeta and Sondra have been solid supporters of NN2 since its very earliest years. Both have served as Board Members, President, and are currently Trustees. Many of the initiatives from which NN2 has benefited were started by Lacheeta and Sondra, including our partnership with American Association of Community Colleges as a council, Coalition for Allied Health Leadership, our long relationship with CAAHEP, including permanent Commissioner positions for NN2. They are the only people who have hosted the annual meeting twice! They have played pivotal roles in working with ASAHP over the years, and in establishing lasting, formal relationships with other organizations such as HPN and ASPA. They are also an important part of the H2P Federal Grant, which is the first major financial award in NN2's history. It would be impossible to select just one of this dynamic duo for the Janell Lang Leadership Award, thus my recommendation is that both of them receive it this year. NN2 owes much of what it is today to its founders and early officers including Lacheeta and Sondra. They are great examples of leadership that the Janell Lang Leadership Award espouses."

CAAHEP congratulates the "dynamic duo," Sondra and LaCheeta on this prestigious leadership award!

CAAHEP Board Meeting Highlights

The CAAHEP Board met in Tampa, Florida, in November to conduct its regularly scheduled accreditation business, as well as to focus on moving the strategic plans forward. Jennifer Anderson Warwick, who serves as staff on several Committees on Accreditation, as a non-Board Liaison, and as a member of the CAAHEP Standards Committee, was the facilitator of the focused strategic planning session. The meeting produced a number of priorities with timelines and responsibilities assigned. The CAAHEP Board and staff appreciate Jennifer's time and effort in this process.

The following is a synopsis of the Board's activities during the November Board Meeting:

Those who serve as CAAHEP liaisons to Committees on Accreditation were invited to attend the November meeting, and either presented or submitted a report on the CoA's activities over the past year.
A Finance Committee report was presented and the 2012 Audit was approved by the Board. A Finance Committee drafted a Reserve Policy, which will be presented to the Board at its meeting in January 2013.
Dan Points has resigned from the Standards Committee and the Board approved Hugh Bonner as his replacement to that Committee.
Both the Planning and Development and the Performance Oversight Committees met. The Planning and Development Committee recommended and the Board approved that there be no November face-to-face meeting in 2013. The Performance Oversight Committee made changes to the annual Committee on Accreditation Activity Report (CAAR), which will be distributed to the CoAs in December.
The Board approved an edit to CAAHEP Policy 511 Selection of Officers.
A report from the 2013 Annual Meeting Planning Committee was provided, which noted Committee members: Carol Mitchell, Chair, Richard Heranandz, Susan Fuchs, and Tony Makin. The theme of the 2013 Annual Meeting is "Using the Past to Shape the Future."
The Board approved the concept of creating a Recommendation Review Committee, consisting of five Board members and one staff person, for the purpose of reviewing accreditation recommendations from the CoAs and asking questions of the CoAs, as necessary. A pilot Committee will meet in January to draft the procedures and the process will be piloted through July 2014. Members volunteering to serve on the Committee are: Kalyani Naik, Chair, Kerry Weinberg, Pauletta Brown Bracy, Carolyn O'Daniel, and Katie Lukovich. Theresa Sisneros will serve as the staff person to the Committee.

Should you have any question regarding the CAAHEP Board of Directors meeting, please contact Kathleen Megivern.

Accreditation Actions

The following programs achieved CAAHEP accreditation at the November 17, 2012, Board of Directors meeting. Where possible, there are links directly to each program's website.

Diagnostic Medical Sonography

Continuing

Delaware Technical and Community College - Wilmington, Wilmington, DE (Associate) (General, Cardiac, Vascular)

El Centro College, Dallas, TX (Certificate, Associate) (General)

Grady Health System, Atlanta, GA (Certificate) (General)

Keiser University-Daytona, Daytona Beach, FL (Associate) (General)

Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY (Baccalaureate) (General, Cardiac)

NHTI-Concord's Community College, Concord, NH (Certificate) (General)

Sanford Brown College-Houston, Houston, TX (Associate) (General)

University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI (Certificate) (General, Vascular)

Initial

Sanford Brown-Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ (Associate) (General)