PANCE Results
Accreditation
The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) has granted Accreditation-Continued to the Harding University Physician Assistant Program sponsored by Harding University. Accreditation-Continued is an accreditation status granted when a currently accredited program is in compliance with the ARC-PA Standards.
Accreditation remains in effect until the program closes or withdraws from the accreditation process or until accreditation is withdrawn for failure to comply with the Standards. The approximate date for the next validation review of the program by the ARC-PA will be September 2024. The review date is contingent upon continued compliance with the Accreditation Standards and ARC-PA policy.
Access the Program's accreditation history on ARC-PA's webpage (click on "documents" to view the full accreditation history).
In the unlikely event of loss of accreditation and/or closure of a program, the University is committed to teaching out all currently matriculated students, including those in the PA Program. This may involve allowing them to complete their education at Harding University or assisting them in enrolling in an accredited program in which they can continue their education.
Program Goals and Outcomes
The Harding University Physician Assistant Program seeks to develop Physician Assistant graduates who practice and live within a framework of a dependence upon their God and faith.
Here are the program goals and related outcomes (pdf).
Program Performance
- Total Students Matriculated Since the Program's Inception 2005: 645 students (as of Fall 2023)
- Graduates (as of December 2023): 549 graduates
- Overall Graduation Rate: 96.3% (as of December 2023)
- Job placement
- Exit Interview
- Percent of students who had secured a PA position prior to graduation
- Class of 2023: 68%
- Class of 2022: 40%
- Class of 2021: 56%
- Graduate Survey
- Percent of respondents who are employed as a clinically practicing PA
- Class of 2022: 91%
- Class of 2021: 100%
- Class of 2020: 93%
Harding PA students report that clinical rotations are commonly a source of PA employment opportunities. The Program maintains a job board to share employment opportunities with current students and graduates.
