CAPTE Onsite Reviewer Training MODULE 4 ONSITE VISIT

CAPTE: On-site Reviewer Training MODULE 4 – ON-SITE VISIT

Objectives 1. 2. 3. 4. Identify the purposes and format of the on-site visit. List the participants of the on-site visit Identify the team responsibilities prior to, during, and after the on-site visit List the activities that occur on each day of the on-site visit.

Purpose of the Visit Verify and clarify the Self-study Report Provide supporting evidence • Meet with • Facilitates CAPTE’s interested parties • Review on site documentation determination of compliance with the Standards and Required Elements The on-site visit provides an opportunity for a comprehensive review of the physical therapy education program in its particular environment. The primary purpose of the visit is to confirm and clarify the information provided in the Selfstudy Report through interviews and review of on-site documents. Information collected during the visit is provided to CAPTE in the Report of the On-Site Review Team, also called the Visit Report. This face-to-face visit allows CAPTE to have a much fuller picture of the program.

Format of the Visit • • Length of Visit – Typically four days • Longer visits may be scheduled if an institution has programs at multiple sites – Usually Sunday to Wednesday, with a Saturday travel day • Programs that run only on weekends are scheduled differently so that interviews can occur over the weekend Timing of Visit – Typically the semester prior to CAPTE’s review of the program – Must be at least 100 days prior to CAPTE meeting

Participants in the On-Site Visit • • Reviewers Institutional representatives One major advantage of an on-site visit is for the on-site reviewers, who represent CAPTE, to meet personally with the many people who contribute to the quality of the program. Each major stakeholder is involved in the process

Team Composition Team Leader Team Member 1 Educator Practitioner PT Team PT educator PT Team PT practitioner PTA Team PT/PTA who is an educator in a PTA program PTA Team PTA practitioner Team Member 2 Other PT Team Higher education administrator, basic scientist or educator from another health discipline PTA Team Higher education administrator Typically 3 team members are selected by the Accreditation staff from the list of available reviewers. Additional team members may be assigned if the institution has multiple programs. Both the program and the on-site reviewers have an opportunity to identify who may be in conflict with the program. Individuals from the same state are automatically considered in conflict. As much as possible, staff take into account the type of institution and program to tailor the visit to best meet the needs of the program. Where feasible, on-site reviewer preferences are also taken into account.

Team Composition Team Leader Educator Team Member 1 Practitioner PT Team PT educator PT Team PT practitioner PTA Team PT/PTA who is an educator in a PTA program PTA Team PTA practitioner Team Member 2 Other PT Team Higher education administrator, basic scientist or educator from another health discipline PTA Team Higher education administrator Although the team leader is usually the educator, an experienced practitioner may also serve as the team leader. In these instances, team member 1 would be an educator. By CAPTE’s definition, the practitioner must be employed in a clinical setting at least 50% of the time. Team member 2 cannot be a PT or a PTA. CAPTE believes that by including a non-PT on the team, a broader perspective is provided.

Institutional Representatives Program Faculty Institutional Administration Current Students Recent Graduates Employers of Graduates It is not possible to meet with everyone associated with the program, but it is important that key informants and representatives of key groups meet with the on-site team. CAPTE has prepared a sample schedule for an on-site visit that identifies the participant groups who should meet with the team. Some are noted by specific position, such as the dean of the unit within which the program resides. For others, such as students, graduates, employers and clinical instructors, the program director is asked to invite representatives. Although this typically includes individuals from the geographic area, the program may also use telephone conferencing to increase the pool of those interviewed.

Institutional Representatives: Faculty • All core faculty • Part-time faculty with major course responsibility (associated faculty) • Representative clinical education faculty Interviews with faculty help the team to confirm a wide range of areas related to the Standards and Required Elements, including, but not limited to faculty workloads, the extent to which practice matches policies, sufficiency of resources, effectiveness of communication, strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum, and the extent to which the program assesses outcomes. The program director should not be present during faculty interviews. Group interviews are used for associated faculty as well as clinical education faculty. Clinical education faculty may be a combination of clinical instructors and center coordinators of clinical education, also known as CCCEs. It is suggested that interviews with clinical education faculty occur early in the visit so that the team can obtain additional information regarding any curricular areas that may have been raised.

Institutional Representatives: Administration • • All administrators with academic responsibility for the program (e. g. , Dean, Provost, President) Administrative support (e. g. , admission staff, secretarial support) Interviews with academic administrators provide information regarding support for the program and long term institutional planning. Interviews with those involved providing administrative and secretarial support provide an opportunity to verify the activities and sufficiency of support personnel.

Institutional Representatives: Students • Representatives of current students across the years in the program The team meets with representatives from each class. Some programs select who will be interviewed; other programs ask each class to pick representatives. If the class is small, the team may meet with the entire class. If a cohort is out in clinic, the team usually meets with class members that are in the geographic area.

Institutional Representatives: Graduates • Recent graduates – Practicing in the area – Outside of geographic area via telephone conference The program may choose to supplement those graduates that are in the geographic area by telephone conferencing in graduates that live in other areas. Interviews with graduates allows the team to confirm how well prepared graduates were for entry-level practice. However, whenever an individual identifies an area of weakness, whether it be a graduate, current student, clinical instructor or employer, every effort should be made to provide CAPTE with additional information regarding how the content is taught and what content is included. Faculty interviews and review of course materials can provide details that will assist CAPTE in determining compliance.

Institutional Representatives: Employers • Representatives of employers of program graduates – In the region – Outside the region Telephone conferencing can increase the number and variety of individuals being interviewed. Employers help to triangulate curricular strengths as well as areas that might need enhancement.

Overview of Reviewer Responsibilities Collect and analyze data Participate in the consultative session Prepare visit report Participate in the oral report NOTE: Reviewers do NOT make evaluative judgments about actual compliance. On-site reviewers have a great responsibility to be the ‘eyes and ears’ of CAPTE. Their role in gathering data to augment and clarify the Self-study Report is vital to the accreditation process. However, it is important to recognize that only CAPTE can make the actual compliance and accreditation status decisions. Reviewers facilitate CAPTE’s decision by summarizing the data collected on site into a concise Visit Report. Reviewers also participate in an Exit Summary at the end of the visit that summarizes their findings for each of the eight standards. The Exit Summary is given only to the core faculty and institutional administrators at the conclusion of the visit. The reviewers then have an opportunity, if requested by the program, to provide consultation.

Activities Prior to the Visit Thoroughly read the Self-study Report Identify areas that need to be clarified Determine how best to clarify information In order to maximize the utility of the on-site visit it is essential that each team member has thoroughly read the Selfstudy Report and identified the areas that need to be clarified while on site. Planning should include the identification of specific questions for the different groups that will be interviewed.

Team Leader Activities Prior to the Visit Program Director to establish the schedule and discuss need for specific on-site materials Team Leader communicates with: Other team members to assign responsibilities and discuss any preliminary concerns, questions, or issues Other team members to identify any missing material Team leaders are encouraged to make early contact with individuals to ensure ample time for planning. The team leader communicates with the Program Director to establish the schedule and discuss the need for specific on-site materials. Programs must have ample notice of any additional materials being requested for on-site review as well as which materials the team would like to have at the hotel to review on Sunday. The Team Leader also communicates with the other team members

Logistics of the Visit Program makes the hotel reservations and provides the details in the On-site Visit Travel Form Team members make flight arrangements through Concur preferably at least 6 weeks before visit. Travel is from Saturday to Wednesday. If a car rental is necessary, contact staff for approval • The On-site Visit Travel Form includes information about local airports and local transportation. This form is sent to each team member by the program. Each team member is responsible for paying for the hotel and expensing the costs back to CAPTE. • The email confirming your appointment for an on-site visit will indicate the date by which travel arrangements must be made. Air travel is always directly billed to the APTA. Travel days are Saturday to ensure team availability and after the consultative session on Wednesday. Team members may stay an additional night (either at the program site or closer to an airport) to accommodate flight schedules and the consultative session; no prior approval for this situation is necessary. • As a rule APTA will not reimburse for rental cars. When a rental car is necessary, travel arrangements will need to be coordinated. Since only one rental car will be approved per visit, if the team will be arriving at very different times, it may be necessary to stay at a hotel near the airport Saturday night. The team is responsible for any needed changes to the hotel reservations made by the program. For insurance purposes, you should not use cars belonging to the faculty during the visit.

Logistics of the Visit Costs Contact Information Travel Emergencies • Each team member is responsible for the costs at the time of the visit and must submit a Travel Expense form within 30 days of the visit. On-site reviewers may request a travel advance of up to $500 prior to a visit; travel advances are requested on the CAPTE Accreditation Portal. Please allow time for processing these requests! • In order to ensure that you can be contacted should there be any last minute, unexpected changes, you should make sure this information is up to date and provide a cell phone number. It is also a good idea to share your travel itinerary with the other team members and the program. • Should any travel changes need to be made during the visit, they need to be made through Concur. Make sure that you take Concur’s 800 number, as well as their 24 hour emergency number with you. The 24 -hour emergency number is only to be used if calling at times other than usual working hours. Should you need to cancel a flight, this must be done through Concur in order to secure credit for the cancelled flight, which then would be available for your next flight (assuming it is on the same carrier). All costs are reimbursed by CAPTE and travel advances are available Information, including cell numbers, is shared with the team and program Changes must be made through Concur

Overview of On-site Activities Day 1 Sunday On-site Visit Schedule • Initial team preparation for visit • Day 2 & 3 Monday & Tuesday Day 4 Wednesday • Interviews & review of materials • Visit Report • Exit Report • Consultation Tour of facilities The schedule is a very busy one, designed to help the reviewers and participants share as much information as possible.

Day One: Sunday Identifying materials to be reviewed on site Some materials can be reviewed at the hotel Identifying issues; refining and prioritizing questions Assigning specific analysis and writing responsibilities Campus tour; tour of facilities The team uses Sunday to plan its activities for the three day visit, usually meeting for the first time early in the afternoon. Having on-site materials at the hotel, for those that can leave the campus, will significantly facilitate your review. However, it is imperative that this request be made by the team leader well in advance of the visit. The team also uses this time to identify & prioritize issues, plan the interviews, and confirm writing responsibilities. It is expected that Sunday activities will also include meeting the program director for a preliminary discussion. An optional activity of touring the campus and program facilities is permitted and feasible.

Day Two and Three: Monday and Tuesday Review additional materials on site Review Materials Interviews with all involved with the program Conduct Interviews Evenings are used to discuss findings and write Visit Report Write Report On Monday and Tuesday the team will review additional materials on-site. The team will also meet with all of the various program representatives. Interviews with students and clinical education faculty should occur early in the visit in order to allow time to discuss with the core faculty any curricular issues raised by students or clinical instructors. The team will use evenings to continue its analysis and write the Visit Report.

Day Four: Wednesday Review report with program director Report is finalized Give core faculty & administrators Overview must be completed Exit Summary format Team provides consultation to core faculty, if requested by program • On Wednesday morning, either at the hotel or at the school, the team continues to write the Visit Report, completing as much as possible. The team must complete the Exit Summary section of the Visit Report, as this is used in the Exit Report. Prior to giving the Exit Report to administrators and core faculty, the team meets with the program director to review its findings. The purpose of this meeting is to ensure that the program director is not caught unaware during the Exit Report. If the team is requesting that the program send additional materials to CAPTE, the last page of the Visit Report identifying these items is given to the program director at this time. • An Exit Report format is provided by Accreditation staff; it is accessible from the Portal. The team needs to add the date that CAPTE will review the program; this information is provided in the initial team assignment letter. This format should be used to ensure consistency across visits. • After the Exit Report, a consultation session can be scheduled if requested by the program. Usually the program identifies the areas to be discussed. If requested, the team can also provide suggestions, including items that would have been too prescriptive to include in the Visit Report. Teams should always indicate that the views presented are those of the team and not the Commission.

Activities After the Visit • Final editing or writing is done after the visit including grammar and sentence structure. After the report is edited by Accreditation staff, it is sent to the program. A final copy of the report that includes the program’s responses will be sent to each team member. • The primary CAPTE reviewer typically contacts the team leader prior to the CAPTE meeting. This enables CAPTE to clarify issues if need be. New information cannot be provided at this time; CAPTE can only act on information that the program is aware of and had an opportunity to respond to. • The team leader will comment on the first Compliance Report submitted by the program. Once this is done and you receive CAPTE’s actions in a report called the Summary of Action, you will be instructed to destroy all program materials. It is very important that you destroy program materials when you are requested, including any e-mail correspondence with other team members, staff or the program. ✓ Never leave a copy of the Visit Report with the program ✓ Submit Visit Report to staff within 10 days of visit ✓ Share information with CAPTE when contacted ✓ Comment on the first Compliance Report, if applicable ✓ Receive Summary of Action ✓ Destroy all materials when instructed to do so by staff

Summary • • Purpose of the site visit Site visit participants Site visit schedule Role of the reviewer