Accreditation
The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) has granted Accreditation-Continued status to the Shenandoah University Physician Assistant (SUPA) Program sponsored by Shenandoah University. This accreditation status is granted when a currently accredited program is in compliance with the ARC-PA Standards. The approximate date for the next validation review of the program by the ARC-PA will be March 2025. The review date is contingent upon continued compliance with the Accreditation Standards and ARC-PA policy.
| State | Sponsoring Institution for Accredited Program | Current Accreditation Status | Accreditation Actions History | Date First Accredited | Next ARC-PA Review |
| VA | Shenandoah University | Continued | View | 8/1/2001 | March 2025 |
Goals
- Maintain First Time Pass Rate on PANCE above the national average.
- Seventy-five percent of graduates will have permanent employment within four months of graduation.
- The percentage of new graduates who practice in primary care will be above the national average.
Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE)
The SUPA Program is proud of its students’ performance on the PANCE. Our pass rate has been consistently above the national rate. While candidates are encouraged to compare first-time taker pass rates between programs, there are many factors beyond the graduate’s program of study that may impact certification examination performance and pass rates. The factors include size of the PA Program, commitment to enrolling candidates from disadvantaged backgrounds, and personal factors related to the graduate at the time of testing.
The table below represents the performance of SUPA graduates for the past five years. As of June 2023, the SUPA Program has graduated 738 students who have taken the national certifying examination.
The Program’s overall pass rate for all years is 96% for first-time takers. Note: Our students graduate in December each year and generally take the PANCE in January or February of the following year.
NCCPA 5-Year Pass Report (PDF)
|
Class |
Graduation |
Number of |
SUPA |
National |
| 2018 | 2018 | 51 | 94% | 98% |
| 2019 | 2019 | 51 | 98% | 93% |
| 2020 | 2020 | 55 | 91% | 95% |
| 2021 | 2021 | 62 | 90% | 93% |
| 2022 | 2022 | 56 | 93% | 92% |
Five Year First Time Taker Average Pass Rate for Program: 93%
Five Year National First Time Taker Average: 94%
Goals (#2 & #3)
| Class Year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
| Graduates | 41 | 52 | 51 | 55 | 62 |
| Graduates Employed** |
82.35%** |
94.59% |
75.86% |
72.73% |
100% (n=9/9) |
|
Graduates Employed |
29.41% |
35.14% |
27.59% |
9.09% |
33.3% (n=3/9) |
|
Nat’l Average (%) |
26.7% |
25.8% |
25% |
24.3% |
19.8% |
**Includes one student in PA post graduate program.
**Within 4-6 months after graduation.
In 2018, SUPA initiated its Scholar Plaza, Loudoun(SP-L) location. Data includes enrollment at the SP-L site.
Student Attrition
| Graduated Classes |
|||
| Class of 2020 | Class of 2021 | Class of 2022 | |
| Maximum entering class size (as approved by ARC-PA) | 60 | 60 | 60 |
| Entering Class | 64 | 64 | 61 |
| Graduates | 55 | 62 | 56 |
| *Attrition rate | 14.1 | 4.6 | 8.1 |
| **Graduation rate | 86 | 95.3 | 91.8 |
*Attrition rate calculation: Number of students who attritted from cohort (due to dismissal,
withdrawal, deceleration or leave of absence) divided by the entering class size.
**Graduation rate: Number of cohort graduates divided by the entering class size.