CoARC

Committee on Accreditation for Respiratory Care

PROGRESS REPORTS

 Many programs have several weaknesses or deficiencies noted during the accreditation or re-accreditation process.  If these problems cannot be resolved before the program's accreditation status is discussed at the next CoARC meeting, the program will be recommended to receive Accreditation, but will be asked to submit one or more progress reports to document remediation of the deficiency(ies).  Progress reports are generally requested within 6-12 months and may vary from questions about specific Standards (e.g. clinical coordination, medical direction, etc.) to requests for resubmission of the entire self-study.  Since revised self-studies result in major expense and time commitment by the educational institution, they are requested only for programs with serious multiple deficiencies.

After submitting a progress report acceptable to CoARC, the program is so notified and Accreditation continues.  When an inadequate progress report is received, CoARC will request resubmission and may also recommend Probationary Accreditation.  Failure to submit a progress report will result in the CoARC recommending the program be placed on Administrative Probation.

Requests for progress reports usually occur in conjunction with initial accreditation or re-accreditation.  They may, however, be required at any time in response to deficiencies noted in Report of Current Status submissions or at other times of program difficulty.

Purpose

The purpose of the progress report is to give the program the opportunity to provide additional documentation in order to come into full compliance with the Standards.  This has the advantage of sending a positive message to the program, the school administration, the communities of interest, and students.

Description

In addressing weaknesses or deficiencies in resource assessment within the progress report, the program must keep in mind that a resource assessment system must include:

1.   a purpose for the resource;

2.   a measurement system for the resource;

3.   a schedule (time frame) for measurement;

4.   a measurement system capable of producing a result; and

5.   a plan for a reaction.