The physical therapy profession doesn't stand still — and neither do its education programs. That's why the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education is moving on several fronts to ensure that its services can continue to help the profession achieve its potential.

While CAPTE continues to maintain industry-leading practices in ongoing operations — a fact recently recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, which renewed CAPTE's CHEA designation for an additional seven years (the maximum renewal) — the commission is also looking to the future. Here's a quick roundup of some of CAPTE's most notable initiatives.

A Reimagined Review Process
Beginning this year, CAPTE is piloting a new approach to program accreditation review. Known as CAPTE Reimagined, the commission is exploring opportunities to embrace innovation and move away from the current process involving three reviewers who conduct both document reviews and a five-day, on-site visit, toward a four-person team consisting of two document reviewers and two on-site reviewers. The four reviewers complete a combined report, which is then assigned to two additional commissioners who review the report as usual.

Six PT and six PTA programs are participating in the pilot, which will be evaluated when CAPTE commissioners meet in October.

More Transparency Around Education Costs
In a decision guided by recommendations from APTA and the former Student Debt Task Force of the Education Leadership Partnership, the commission has moved to require that all PT and PTA education programs "provide the public with current, accurate, reliable, and easily available information about the cost of attendance." Known as Student Financial Fact Sheets, the new resources will be designed to easily allow potential students to not only understand total costs but also compare costs across programs. The fact sheets will be rolled out in August 2022.

A Search for On-Site Reviewers
Think you might be a good candidate to conduct on-site reviews of PT or PTA programs? CAPTE is on the lookout for specialty clinicians who are interested in learning about the accreditation evaluation process and visiting programs to assess their performance. Contact accreditation@apta.org for more information.