A CSUMB program, designed to alleviate the region’s physician shortage, loses accreditation.

Five years ago, hopes ran high when CSU Monterey Bay launched a Master of Science Physician Assistant program to much fanfare. It was the first of its kind in the California State University system and held the promise of filling the gaps of a primary care physician shortage, since PAs are able to perform some of the same tasks as doctors. It was that promise that spurred Central California Alliance for Health and Montage Health to donate a combined $1.35 million for the degree’s creation.

On Monday, Nov. 6, current and future students were informed the program is losing its accreditation, effective May 2024, from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, called ARC-PA – a Georgia-based organization that sets standards for PA education and evaluates programs against those standards.

CSUMB’s program, accredited for up to 33 students per class since 2018, had been on probation since September 2021, when ARC-PA evaluators found it was failing to meet 15 standards. Some were related to paperwork, but others cited a lack of evidence that students were receiving instruction in some areas, including patient safety. CSUMB did not appeal the probation decision; a follow-up visit was scheduled for spring 2023.

In an email to the CSUMB community, President Vanya Quiñones said ARC-PA withdrew the probationary accreditation after that site visit, and CSUMB was forced to close the program. An email was sent to students already accepted to begin in January 2024, stating CSUMB is no longer able to provide admissions and deposits would be refunded.

The program graduated 84 students since 2019, with a “high success rate” in graduates completing certifying exams, according to a statement from CSUMB Vice President for Academic Affairs Andrew Lawson. He added that administrators would be “re-evaluating how we can move forward with a successful program in the future if we determine that is the best for the university and the community.”