Assessment & Accreditation

What are students learning in the Panuska College of Professional Studies?  

The University of Scranton is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, 3624 Market St., Philadelphia, PA 19104, 215-662-5606.

The most valuable information to determine the quality of education comes from outcomes assessment within our PCPS academic departments. In the Panuska College of Professional Studies, all six departments in PCPS have programs with specialized accreditation. Each accrediting organization engages in external reviews or site visits every 5-10 years. Many of our accrediting organizations have previously reviewed academic programs housed in PCPS. A list of the past dates of visit and names of accrediting organizations was compiled and reads as follows:

The Department of Health Administration and Human Resources: (CAHME) Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education, Accreditation through Spring 2027.
The Department of Counseling and Human Services: (CACREP) Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs, Accreditation through October 31, 2031. (CSHSE) Council for Standards in Human Service Education, Accreditation period Oct. 2021 - Oct. 2026.
The Department of Nursing: (CCNE) Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education - Accredited through December 2032; Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Education Programs (COA) accredited through Fall 2032.
Department of Occupational Therapy: The MS in OT program is accredited, with warning, by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education of (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). The OTD program is currently under Candidacy status and anticipate full accreditation review by the spring of 2025.
Department of Physical Therapy: (CAPTE) Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education, Accreditation through December 31, 2028. The Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Program at the University of Scranton is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314; telephone: (703)706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org; website: http://www.capteonline.org. If needing to contact the program/institution directly, please call or email the program director, Renee Hakim, at: (570)941-7499 or renee.hakim@scranton.edu.
Department of Health and Human Performance: (CAAHEP) Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs. Due to CAAHEP policy change, initial accreditation no longer expires. The initial accreditation for this program remains in place until another status is granted, at which time the status for the program will be updated on the CAAHEP website.
MS Health Informatics Program: (CAHIIM) Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education, Accreditation through 2028/2029 Academic Year.
MS Speech-Language Pathology Program: (CAA) Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, Candidacy Status through January 31, 2028. The Master of Science (M.S.) education program in speech-language pathology (distance education) at The University of Scranton is a Candidate for Accreditation by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2200 Research Boulevard, #310, Rockville, MD 20850, 800-498-2071 or 301-296-5700. Candidacy is a “preaccreditation” status with the CAA, awarded to developing or emerging programs for a maximum period of 5 years.

National Accreditation Status
PCPS Programs

Table of PCPS Accreditations
Accrediting Organization	Most Recent Accreditation	End of Accreditation Term	Comment
ACOTE	December 2023	2030/2031 Academic Year	OTM Program Accredited, with warning
CAHME	November 2020	Spring 2027
CAPTE	November 2020	December 31, 2028
CCNE	March 2022	December 31, 2032
CACREP	August 7, 2023	October 31, 2031
CSHSE	October 2021	October 2026
COA	October 2022	Fall 2032
CAAHEP	May 18, 2018
CAAHIM	December 6, 2021	2028/2029 Academic Year
CAA	February 13, 2023	January 31, 2028	Candidacy Status

PCPS uses a variety of outcome measures and evaluation procedures to maintain and renew the quality of its curriculum and the overall organizational structure and activities of the college.