Accreditation of Allied Health Education

Abstract

IN RECENT years, educational, regulatory, and political groups have targeted effectiveness as a primary goal in American postsecondary education. This has given rise to a number of national initiatives during the past 18 months that may have a major influence on the future course of allied health education and accreditation. Three projects are of marked significance: (1) the outcomes analysis project of the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation (COPA)-Fund for Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), (2) the report of the Pew Health Professions Commission, and (3) the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Each in its own way stresses the importance of evaluating results in assessing educational quality, a concept long supported by the American Medical Association Committee on Allied Health Education and Accreditation (CAHEA). <h3>COPA-FIPSE OUTCOMES ANALYSIS PROJECT</h3> The outcomes analysis project conducted by COPA, with support from FIPSE's Project on Accreditation for Educational Effectiveness: Assessment Tools for