Accreditation

The UAA 38-credit CMA Examination Preparation Course of Study is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (www.caahep.org) upon the recommendation of the Medical Assisting Education Review Board: Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, 9355 - 113th St. N, #7709, Seminole, FL 33775-7709, (727) 210-2350. Students who complete the UAA CMA Examination Preparation courses are eligible to sit for the CMA examination.

The AAS in Medical Assisting and the Course of Study (CMA Exam Preparation) share the same program goal: To prepare medical assistants who are competent in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains to enter the profession.

CAAHEP requires that all accredited Medical Assisting programs make public one or more measurable outcomes. The UAA MA Program 2022 Annual Report Form (ARF) indicates:

- Exam passage: 67% (2020 Graduate Cohort)

- Job placement: 63% (2020 Graduate Cohort)

- Student retention: 79% (2020 Admission Cohort)

 Graduate Year 2018 2019 2020 2021
 Student Retention  100% 67% 79% 78%
 Graduate Satisfaction  100%  100% 100% 100%
 Employer Satisfaction  80% 86% 100% 100%
 Examination Passage 100% 94%  67% 75%

Why is Accreditation Important?

The Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERB) has identified the following:

  • Accreditation assures professional competence: Graduates from a CAAHEP-accredited program have covered the comprehensive MAERB Core Curriculum and achieved the psychomotor and affective competencies to ensure patient safety.
  • Accreditation offers standardization, uniformity, and consistency: All CAAHEP-accredited programs cover the same MAERB Core Curriculum, so employers can be guaranteed that the students know a given body of entry-level knowledge.
  • Accreditation requires external verification, review, and validation: In fulfilling the standards, CAAHEP-accredited programs submit their outcomes to MAERB for an annual review and go through a comprehensive site visit review with CAAHEP every ten years.
  • Accreditation protects resources: The accreditation Standards and Guidelines specify that the students and faculty have access to specific resources in order to ensure that the program can comply with the national standards.
  • Accreditation enhances the institution's reputation: Institutions participating in programmatic accreditation distinguish themselves from other institutions
  • Accreditation is public: CAAHEP-accredited programs are listed in a CAAHEP database for student and educator access, and CAAHEP-accredited programs post their status and outcomes.
  • Accreditation travels well: Employers across the country recognize the value of accreditation.
  • Accreditation advances the profession: The standardization, uniformity, and consistency that accreditation ensures, as well as the review of the Standards and Guidelines and MAERB Core Curriculum, move the profession forward toward greater recognition in the allied health field.
  • Accreditation acknowledges accountability: Education programs graduating prospective healthcare workers must be accountable in ensuring patient safety, and accreditation supports the process of accountability with curriculum that is innovative, relevant, and current.