Utah Valley University’s (UVU) Master of Physician Assistant Studies Program has advanced from Accreditation-Provisional to Accreditation-Continued following the successful completion of its provisional review process and site visit last February.
Utah Valley University’s (UVU) Master of Physician Assistant Studies Program has advanced from Accreditation-Provisional to Accreditation-Continued following the successful completion of its provisional review process and site visit last February. This is an important milestone for the program and reflects its demonstrated compliance with the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) standards.
UVU’s Physician Assistant (PA) Program provides a dynamic and hands-on learning environment that enables students to master the professional competencies needed to practice as physician assistants on any healthcare team. The UVU PA Program faculty and staff value professionalism, compassion, and clinical competence as key principles of clinical practice and education.
“We are so proud of the work the institutional leadership, faculty, staff, and students have done in the successful preparation for our final accreditation visit,” said PA Program Director Karen Mulitalo. “This is a wonderful milestone in what we hope will be the UVU PA Program’s tradition of graduating well-qualified PAs to serve our local community.”
Since graduating its first cohort in 2024, the UVU PA Program has produced 83 graduates across three cohorts, with first-time PANCE pass rates of 93% for the Classes of 2024 and 2025, and 100% for the Class of 2026. Both the Classes of 2024 and 2025 achieved a 100% all-takers PANCE pass rate. The UVU PA Program faculty and staff value professionalism, compassion, and clinical competence as key principles of clinical practice and education.
The UVU PA Program’s mission is to graduate compassionate providers who are academically and clinically prepared to strengthen the regional healthcare workforce through exceptional patient care.
As part of their hands-on training, PA students get practical experience at the Bingham Family Clinic on UVU’s West Campus. The clinic provides free comprehensive medical care to those who may not otherwise have access to proper treatment, including individuals without insurance. Services include medical exams, chronic care management, preventative care, dental hygiene, and on-site pharmacy services.
UVU’s PA Program previously had Accreditation-Provisional, an accreditation status granted when the plans and resource allocation, if fully implemented as planned, of a proposed program that has not yet enrolled students appear to demonstrate the program’s ability to meet the ARC-PA standards, or when a program holding Accreditation-Provisional status appears to demonstrate continued progress in complying with the standards as it prepares for the graduation of the first class (cohort) of students.
“Accreditation-Continued status is an important milestone for our PA program and a testament to the hard work of our faculty, staff, and students,” said College of Health and Public Services Dean Sue Jackson. “I am incredibly proud of what this team has accomplished and, even more importantly, of the highly skilled, compassionate PAs we are preparing to care for individuals and families across Utah."
ARC-PA is the accrediting agency that protects the interests of the public and PA profession by defining the standards for PA education and evaluating PA educational programs within the territorial United States to ensure their compliance with those standards.
ARC-PA is an independent accrediting body authorized to accredit qualified PA educational programs leading to the professional credential, physician assistant (PA). Accreditation is a process of quality assurance that determines whether the program meets established standards for function, structure, and performance. The ARC-PA does not accredit any academic degree awarded by the sponsoring institution of the PA program.
To learn more about UVU’s Master of Physician Assistant Studies Program, please visit https://www.uvu.edu/physicianassistant/.
