Issues and
Outcomes in
Graduate
Education
Christopher D. Ingersoll, PhD, ATC
Joe H. Gieck Professor of Sports Medicine
University of Virginia
Issues
1. ATCs are advising students to pursue graduate
degrees in something other than Athletic
Training
2. Concerns that Post-Certification Athletic
Training Graduate Programs are not delivering
advanced knowledge
3. There are relatively few Post-Certification
Graduate Athletic Training programs (accredited
or not)
4. Reasons students select graduate programs
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1.ATCs are advising students
to pursue graduate
degrees in something other
than Athletic Training
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Common Advice to New ATCs
• “Since you did your undergraduate work at an
accredited program, you don’t need to attend an
accredited graduate program.”
• “You need to get your Masters in something else
because athletic training alone is not enough to get
a job.”
• “It doesn’t matter what you get your Masters
degree in as long as you have one.”
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“Since you did your undergraduate
work at an accredited program, you
don’t need to attend an accredited
graduate program”
• Graduate programs used to be a route to
certification
– Programs had to meet needs of “advanced” and “entrylevel” students
– Graduate programs of study used to look very similar to
undergraduate courses of study
– Students from accredited undergraduate programs may
have not been challenged during this time
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“You need to get your Masters in
something else because athletic
training alone is not enough to get a
job”
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“It doesn’t matter what you
get your Masters degree in
as long as you have one”
• Unfortunately, this is probably true, but is
this an idea we want to perpetuate?
• We haven’t done a good job educating
employers
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2.
PCGE Programs Not Advanced?
• Accredited PCGE programs:
– “are different from entrylevel programs in purpose,
design and content” (II.B.)
– have a mission “to expand
the depth and breadth of
the … knowledge and skills
of entry-level certified
athletic trainers” (II.B.)
– are “characterized by
advanced systematic study
and experience” (II.B.)
– provide “instruction in
advanced skills and
knowledges” (II.C.)
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– provide “advanced
educational experiences
designed to enhance …
ability to function in
clinical, teaching,
administrative, or research
environments” (II.C.)
– “include new and
advanced, in-depth
educational experiences
designed to enhance …
professional practice” (II.C.)
Note: Parenthetical information refers to
section in Standards & Guidelines for
Post-Certification Graduate Athletic
Training Education Programs
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3. Very Few PCGE Programs
• 3007: # students taking BOC
exam for first time in 2003 (BOC
2003 Annual Report)
• 13: # accredited graduate
programs
• 160: approx. # of students
accepted into accredited
PCGATEPs ea. yr.
• 10: approx. % of students
pursuing advanced study in AT
(including non accred. progs.)
• 70: approx. % of ATCs with
graduate degrees
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Very Few Students Pursuing
Advanced Study in Athletic Training
•10%
• We need more
programs!
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4. Reasons Students Select
Graduate Programs
• No data on this (we need some)
• Often influenced by mentors
– Program directors
– Clinical coordinators
– Clinical instructors
• Anecdotally, many pick graduate programs based
only on the clinical experience
– Thought of as a job where they have to take classes
– Meeting clinical responsibilities takes priority over
learning
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More
4. Reasons Students Select
Graduate Programs, cont.
• Some apply based on reputation of the
program, without regard for what they will
learn
• Other reasons
– Location
– Finances
– Duration of program
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What Students Should
Know About PCGATEPs
• Nearly 100% placement in jobs or professional
programs
• Accredited GATEPs are targeted for job placement
and networking
• Research and mentoring with expert scholars and
clinicians
• Instruction in advanced skills and knowledges that
directly relate to AT
• Programs meet rigorous standards and guidelines
that assure quality
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Outcomes
• What the Standards
and Guidelines for
Post-Certification
Graduate Athletic
Training Education
Programs
document has to
say about outcomes
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General Principles of
Graduate Education
•
•
•
•
•
•
Mastery of subject matter
Critical thinking
Theoretical understanding
Proficiency in research and/or creative activities
Service orientation
Diverse representation of perspectives
– Standards & Guidelines for Post-Certification Graduate Athletic Training
Education Programs, II.A.1-6.
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Philosophy of PCGAT Programs
• Graduate Education Programs
are different from entry-level
programs in purpose, design
and content.
• The mission of a PCGATEP is
to expand the depth and breadth
of the applied, experiential, and
propositional knowledge and
skills of entry-level ATCs,
expand the athletic training
body of knowledge, and to
disseminate new knowledge in
the discipline.
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• Graduate education is
characterized by advanced
systematic study and
experience—advanced in
knowledge, understanding,
scholarly competence, inquiry,
and discovery.
–
Standards & Guidelines for Post-Certification
Graduate Athletic Training Education
Programs, II.B.
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Principles of PCGAT Programs
• Instruction in advanced skills
and knowledges, the
preparation of ATCs for
leadership roles, and a research
experience are considered to be
the distinguishing
characteristics of graduate
education in athletic training.
• Advanced educational
experiences designed to
enhance the ATC’s ability to
function in clinical, teaching,
administrative, or research
environments are considered to
be essential components of the
PCGATEP.
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• While minimal graduate
courses and resource
requirements are specified in
this document, flexibility and
innovation in curricular
development are encouraged.
However, the program must
demonstrate its contribution to
advanced education of athletic
training practitioners.
–
Standards & Guidelines for PostCertification Graduate Athletic
Training Education Programs, II.C.
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Principles of PCGAT Programs
• The NATA EC has developed a
comprehensive list of AT
educational competencies and
clinical proficiencies in order to
provide guidance and direction
in the professional preparation
of entry-level AT students. They
represent guidelines for
curriculum design, development
of individual course content,
and structuring of clinical
experiences for the entry-level
programs.
• Development of an effective
PCGATEP depends on a
thorough assessment of those
education experiences typically
offered at the entry-level.
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• PCGATEPs include new and
advanced, in-depth educational
experiences designed to
enhance the athletic trainer's
professional practice.
– Standards & Guidelines for PostCertification Graduate Athletic
Training Education Programs,
II.C.
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Outcomes
• The Standards and Guidelines
is an advocacy document
aimed at encouraging thought
and empowering institutions
and program directors so they
can develop programs around
their unique strengths or points
of distinctiveness.
• There will be much greater
variety in program design,
content, and foci amongst
graduate programs than
amongst undergraduate and
entry-level graduate programs.
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• Institutions have increased
freedom to innovate,
experiment with new ideas and
approaches, and venture into
the unknown.
• Successful innovations will be
retained and shared with
colleagues and will therefore
lead to stronger graduate
education programs, stronger
graduates, and a stronger
profession.
–
Standards & Guidelines for PostCertification Graduate Athletic
Training Education Programs, I.B.
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Assessment (scan
environment)
Self Study
Identify/revise strengths
and weaknesses
Identify/revise points
of distinctiveness
Build/revise mission
statement
Develop/revise goals
and objectives
Develop/revise program to
support POD
Develop/revise
outcomes
These
Thesecome
are strengths.
from your
Distinctiveness
is not
assessment
necessarily
Must support
uniqueness.
May have
points of
more than one.
distinctiveness,
but
Must
support
may include other
points
thingsof
distinctiveness, but
may include other
things
Site
Courses, clinical
experiences,
research experiences
should support POD
Define what
program is
Quantitative
supposed
to do and/or
Review
qualitative, show you are
accomplishing what you
said you would
Measure outcomes
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We Need to Become Experts
• “Enlighten the people
generally, and tyranny
and oppressions of
body and mind will
vanish like evil spirits
at the dawn of day.”
• Thomas Jefferson, 1816
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Thanks
• Graduate Education Committee
– Kenneth Knight, PhD, ATC:
Brigham Young University
– Leamor Kahanov, EdD, ATC: San
Jose State University
– Joni Roh, EdD, ATC: California
University of Pennsylvania
– Jeffrey Seegmiller EdD, ATC:
Ohio University
– Eric Sauers, PhD, ATC: A.T. Still
University
– Charles Swanik, PhD, ATC:
Temple University
– Gary Wilkerson, EdD, ATC: UT Chattanooga
– Richard Williams, PhD, ATC:
University of Northern Iowa
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• Graduate Review Committee
– Bruce Barnhart, EdD, ATC:
California University of
Pennsylvania
– Michelle Cleary, PhD, ATC:
Florida International University
– Mitch Cordova, PhD, ATC:
Indiana State University
– Kevin Guskiewicz, PhD, ATC:
University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill
– Carl Mattacola, PhD, ATC:
University of Kentucky
– Bonnie Van Lunen, PhD, ATC:
Old Dominion University
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Questions?
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