FAQs for ULV’s Voluntary Withdrawal from Accreditation Process for Master of Science Physician Assistant Practice Program

After reviewing the program and its accreditation requirements, the University determined that the best path forward was to close the program and conduct a teach-out. This will allow the University to take time to re-evaluate its program offerings and determine future options.

As stated in FAQs above, students are eligible to sit for the PANCE as long as they matriculated into an accredited PA program. Therefore, all students in the 2024 and 2025 cohorts are eligible to sit for the PANCE.

A student may sit for the PANCE exam in their own timeframe. Individuals who have never been certified and who graduated from an ARC-PA accredited PA program on or after January 1, 2003, will be eligible to take PANCE for up to six years after completing the requirements for graduation from that program.

During that six-year period, the PANCE may be taken a total of six times. When either the six attempts or six years are exhausted, whichever occurs sooner, the individual loses eligibility to take the PANCE. The only way to establish new eligibility is to complete an unabridged ARC-PA accredited PA educational program again.

NCCPA, which administers the PANCE, does not accept applications until 180 days prior to your expected program completion date (as provided by your program director). In this context, “program completion date” is the date all requirements for graduation are completed as deemed by your program. After your PA Program notifies NCCPA of your expected graduation date, you’ll receive an email from NCCPA that will provide information you need to set up your secure, personalized online NCCPA account.

Please visit the NCCPA PANCE Exam web page for more information on eligibility and the registration process.

The University of La Verne PA Program will remain accredited, on Probation, through December 31, 2024. We anticipate that you will graduate with a degree from an accredited PA Program if you remain in good standing and complete your requirements before December 31, 2024.

We are committed to your existing course of study, and the University has practicum sites established through Fall 2024 to support the clinical coursework. All graduation requirements put in place for second-year students will remain the same. Schedules for second-year students are expected to run as planned in the course catalog. So long as graduation requirements are met, second-year students will be able to graduate in December 2024 from an accredited program.

Following graduation, you would be eligible to sit for the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE) exam. Accreditation-Probation is an active accreditation status and students entering a program that is on probation are entering a program that is accredited. In order to be eligible to take the PANCE, students must successfully complete a program that was accredited at the time the student matriculated. Please review the National Commission on Certifying of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) website for further information concerning exam eligibility criteria: https://www.nccpa.net/.

Yes. Students will continue to attend their scheduled clinical rotations as planned, in order to satisfy their degree requirements. The program has remained in contact with our clinical sites and informed them of the teach out. All have committed to our placements for the fall. Students should not contact the clinical site directly. Any questions regarding your placement or site please contact Alfonso Martin at amartin3@laverne.edu.

For students in the December 2025 cohort, we are developing a plan that is intended to provide you the opportunity to complete your program at another institution that offers an accredited PA program with as few disruptions to your course of study as possible. Additionally, we are developing a Program Completion Plan (PCP) that specifically outlines your progression in ULV’s PA Program.

In order to be eligible to take the PANCE, students must successfully complete a program that was accredited at the time the student matriculated. Please review the National Commission on Certifying of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) website for further information concerning exam eligibility criteria: https://www.nccpa.net/.

Your academic adviser will be reaching out in the future to schedule an appointment to review with you the PCP that is being developed for you.

Yes, at the conclusion of the fall trimester we are planning a white coat ceremony for the 2025 cohort. We know this is an important milestone for our students. We will provide more information closer to the date of the ceremonies.

The University is engaging with faculty and staff regarding the information referenced in questions 3 and 5 of this FAQ, and we will be providing more information.

Each state sets its own requirements for licensure as a physician assistant. Every state requires passing the PANCE administered by the NCCPA as a condition of eligibility for licensure. All currently enrolled students, whether in the 2024 or 2025 cohorts, are eligible to take the PANCE, as stated above.

In California, in order to be eligible for licensure, a student must also have graduated from a PA program accredited by ARC-PA at the time they graduated. Therefore, students in the 2024 cohort will be eligible for licensure in California if they graduate by December 31, 2024. Students in the 2025 cohort would need to transfer to an ARC-PA-accredited PA program at another institution and graduate from that program in order to be eligible for licensure in California.

For information on whether the state you plan to practice in requires that you graduate from an ARC-PA accredited program, please consult the state licensing board directly. A list of all the boards can be found at: https://www.aapa.org/advocacy-central/state-advocacy/state-licensing/list-of-licensing-boards/.

The Interim Provost is leading the engagement and school-to-school conversations with potential transferee institutions with PA programs that are in Accreditation – Continued status and in good standing with ARC-PA. The chief goal is to partner with an institution in Southern California which will take all students in the 2025 cohort who are in good standing.

While we endeavor to secure a single teach out partner, it is possible that we may reach agreement with multiple partners. We will update the 2025 cohort as we move through this process.

We know students are anxious to hear about their individual financial implications relating to transfer, and we will provide information on this and other aspects of transfer as soon as possible. The University will work with any transfer institution to ensure the mechanics of tuition payments and aid processing is as efficient as possible for our students. Students will remain eligible for financial aid through the Fall trimester. Further information regarding the 2024-25 award year will be forthcoming from the Office of Financial Aid by next Friday, May 24, 2024.

This will depend on the accepting program’s process. Not all programs utilize the PAEA EOR examinations. Placement in clinical rotations will depend on the accepting program’s agreements made between them and ULV.

Yes. If a teach out partner is secured and transfer to another program is available, students will not be required to accept the opportunity to transfer. Students may choose to stay at La Verne; however, they will complete their degree in an unaccredited program. These students, having matriculated into an accredited program, would be eligible to take the PANCE, and passing the PANCE is one of the requirements for licensure in all of the 50 states.

Most states also require that a student have graduate from an ARC-PA accredited program in order to be eligible for licensure. As such, for students electing to stay at La Verne after December 31, 2024, and having graduated from an unaccredited program, they would only be eligible for licensure in those states that accept graduation from an unaccredited program, which does not include California.

Please visit the American Academy of Physician Assistants’ webpage for specific information regarding your intended state of professional licensure: https://www.aapa.org/advocacy-central/state-advocacy/state-licensing/.

Your upcoming enrollment periods at the University of La Verne will continue to be eligible for federal student aid programs as well as private funding sources.

The receiving institution will advise you of your eligibility upon transfer, and you will need to ensure the institution is included on your FAFSA application for the 2024-2025 academic year. In general, the eligibility criteria for federal student aid will remain the same, so provided you are enrolled at least half time, in good academic standing, and have completed your FAFSA application, you will be offered federal student aid through the receiving institution.

• If you are a member of the 2024 cohort who completes the graduation requirements on schedule, and, thus, you graduate at the end of 2024, you do not have a right to loan discharge as your program is not impacted by the closure.
• If you are a member of the 2025 cohort, AND (a) if you avail yourself of any future opportunity to transfer to another institution with which ULV has a teach-out agreement and if you complete your program there; OR (b) if you remain at ULV and complete the program here, then you would not have a right to loan discharge.
• In addition, you are NOT eligible for discharge of your loans if either of the following is true:
  • You withdrew more than 180 days before the program concludes, unless you can demonstrate an exceptional circumstance.
  • You are completing or have graduated from a program of study at a different branch or location of the school during this same time period for which you received the loan.
• More information on closed school discharge rights is available at: https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/closed-school. Even without a closed school discharge right, you may still be eligible for other forms of loan repayment deferment, forgiveness, and forbearance. For further information on your rights and responsibilities as a federal loan borrower, please visit https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/repaying-101 or contact the Office of Financial Aid at finaid@laverne.edu

At this time, all students, whether in the 2024 or 2025 cohort, have presumed enrollment plans for the Fall 2024 trimester only for the 2024-25 academic year. Please notify the Office of Financial Aid at finaid@laverne.edu if you have a change to your enrollment plans and need your student aid eligibility re-evaluated.

At this time, the Office of Financial Aid is distributing financial aid offers to FAFSA applicants for the 2024-2025 academic year. Loan processing, that is, the reporting of accepted loan funds to USDE and the processing of loan applications via private creditors, will begin no later than June 2024. Loan eligibility remains subject to change pending your enrollment plans, and all changes will be accessible to you via your La Verne Portal. It is also strongly recommended that you check your student email regularly, as any requests for additional information or updates about your eligibility and aid planning will be sent to you accordingly.