SEARCHRevising the Standards
Revising the CAAHEP Standards and Guidelines
for the Accreditation of Educational Programs for the Anesthesiologist Assistant
Task Force Members
Jermaine Leclerc, CAA, Chair
Jaime Daly, MD
Dave Dunipace, CAA
Ilaria Gadalia, DMSc
Kyle Goham, CAA
Daniel Pistone, CAA
Alex Steed, CAA
Jennifer Stever, CAA
Kris Tindol, CAA
Rob Wagner, CAA
Paulina Zal Branum
Current Status (Updated 3-21-2025)
The task force is developing the initial draft, which will be presented to the ARC-AA Board for approval later this year.
Next Step
The approval is for the draft document, which will then be presented to the CAAHEP Standards Committee and stakeholders for input. Stakeholders include practitioners, educators, employers, related professionals, students, institutional administrators (deans and program directors), AAAA, AAAEP, ASA, and the public.
Feedback will be collected through an online survey and listening sessions via Zoom.
The Process and Timeline
The current Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) Standards and Guidelines for the Accreditation of Educational Programs for the Anesthesiologist Assistant became effective in January 2017. Per CAAHEP policies, each Committee on Accreditation (CoA) under the CAAHEP umbrella reviews its profession’s current Standards and Guidelines at least once every ten (10) years.
To provide a framework for evaluation, CAAHEP develops a nationally recognized Standards and Guidelines template that addresses five (5) key areas: Sponsorship, Program Goals, Resources, Student and Graduate Evaluation Assessment, and Fair Practices. The CAAHEP Standards and Guidelines template is developed through a rigorous process that includes seeking input from the various Committees on Accreditation and public comment. Once finalized, all Committees use the same required template language and add additional language specific to their profession. Twenty-five (25) CoAs that work with thirty-two (32) healthcare professions in the accreditation process use the same template.
The purpose of the CAAHEP Standards and Guidelines for the Accreditation of Educational Programs for the Anesthesiologist Assistant is to maintain compliance with CAAHEP policy, including the Standards Template, and to maintain congruence between the educational preparation of students and the accepted state of practice for the discipline.
CAAHEP released the most recent template in January 2021. Changes in the CAAHEP template include provisions for non-U.S.-based programs, innovation, reducing redundancy of standards, and streamlining language.
After several reviews within the ARC-AA, a preliminary draft will be available for review by the stakeholders, including practitioners, educators, employers, students, ARC-AA’s sponsoring organizations, and the public. The anticipated date for this is November 2025.
The review process follows.
- The preliminary draft is in the development stage.
- Comments will be submitted via an electronic comment tool and from listening sessions.
- Comments sent by U.S. Mail, email, and fax are NOT accepted.
- Comments may be incorporated into a revised draft, which will be reviewed by the ARC-AA Board.
- The revised draft will be sent to CAAHEP for review by their Standards Committee.
- Following CAAHEP approval, the draft will be sent to the ARC-AA sponsors for endorsement.
- A proposed implementation date will be determined.
The CAAHEP Standards continue to be broadly written and avoid being prescriptive.
Workflow Schedule
for Reviewing the CAAHEP Standards
Use the visual below to easily track the timeline and responsibilities for reviewing the CAAHEP Standards.
It is organized by year and month, with tasks assigned to each responsible party.
Timeline subject to change.
