CASPA

Last updated
Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants
Industry University and College Admissions
Founded2001
HeadquartersUSA
Website https://caspa.liaisoncas.com/

CASPA or the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants is an application service for graduate-level PA programs. Similar to the Common Application used by some undergraduate institutions and the American Medical College Application Service used by medical schools, CASPA allows students to submit one application to multiple schools. The CASPA application platform is a service offered by the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA). [1]

Contents

History

The CASPA application service launched in 2001 with 68 participating physician assistant programs, and mailed over 16,000 applications to its member schools. The original service consisted of the CASPA Applicant Portal, which interfaced with students, and the CASPA Admissions Portal, or PA Admit, an admissions software that interfaced directly with PA schools. Completed applications were printed and mailed to programs via postal mail. In 2011, CASPA moved from the PA AdMIT admissions software to WebADMIT, a web-based admissions application that allows schools to receive and review applications online rather than receiving them by mail. Today, over 180 PA programs use CASPA, which accounts for 90% of ARC-PA accredited physician assistant programs in the United States. CASPA annually processes over 100,000 applications. [2]

In 2015, CASPA moved its Applicant Portal to an entirely new software platform, called CAS 3.0. New aspects of the platform included a visual, image-based user interface as opposed to the previous text-based interface, and all payments and fee waiver submission forms moved to an entirely electronic format. The platform also included the addition of "Program Materials," a section of the application in which PA programs could configure and collect specific documentation and other information for their program directly through the CASPA application. [3]

Member Programs

PA Programs must be accredited by ARC-PA and be a member of PAEA in order to participate in CASPA as full-fledged programs. New PA programs who have applied for, but not yet received accreditation from ARC-PA may participate for one application cycle as a "developing program." All programs which participate in CASPA are graduate-level programs which require that students have completed at least some college-level coursework prior to applying. The small number of bachelor's degree-level PA programs which accept students straight from high school study do not use the CASPA application. Applicants may determine whether or not the programs they are interested in applying to use CASPA by searching the PA Program Directory. [4]

Features

CASPA is open for applicants to apply to PA programs for roughly eleven months each year. Its open period, called an "application cycle," runs annually from mid-April through March 1. [5] To use the application, applicants must register a user account and fill out standard blocks of application material which is sent to all programs to which they apply. Standard application information includes personal information, academic history, work experience, health care certifications, awards and honors received, professional memberships, references, standardized test scores, and a personal essay documenting an applicant's interest in the physician assistant profession. Applicants must also submit official academic transcripts to CASPA and request at least three letters of reference in order to submit their applications to a PA program. All of this information is provided once and accessed by each school to which the applicant chooses to apply. [6]

The PA programs themselves have varying deadlines which occur during each application cycle. Those deadlines also have varying requirements based upon the individual PA program, which the applicants must research and adhere to in order to be considered by the school. PA programs also document their additional requirements on the "Program Materials" section of the CASPA application, where they have the ability to require additional documents to be uploaded, questions to be answered, and/or prerequisite courses to be marked as completed in order for an applicant to submit their application to that program specifically. Applying to PA programs via CASPA costs $177 for an application to be submitted to one school, and an additional $51 for each subsequent school. [7] In addition, some PA programs charge supplemental application fees or require applicants to submit supplemental documentation.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Admission to the bar in the United States</span> Registration to practice law in a US jurisdiction

Admission to the bar in the United States is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in the jurisdiction and before those courts. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission, which can lead to different admission standards among states. In most cases, a person is "admitted" or "called" to the bar of the highest court in the jurisdiction and is thereby authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction. Federal courts, although often overlapping in admission standards with states, set their own requirements for practice in each of those courts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UCAS</span> England-based private limited company for university application processing

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service is a private limited company based in Gloucestershire, England, which provides educational support services. Incorporated on 27 July 1993, the company's main role is to operate the application process for British universities and colleges. The company is funded by fees charged to applicants and universities as well as advertising income; it was formed by the merger of the former university admissions system Universities Central Council on Admissions and the former polytechnics admissions system Polytechnics Central Admissions System.

A physician assistant or physician associate (PA) is a type of non-doctor health care provider. In North America PAs may diagnose illnesses, develop and manage treatment plans, prescribe medications, and serve as a principal healthcare provider. PAs are required in many states to have a direct agreement with a physician.

The United States service academies, also known as the United States military academies, are federal academies for the undergraduate education and training of commissioned officers for the United States Armed Forces.

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. that was established in 1876. It represents medical schools, teaching hospitals, and academic and scientific societies, while providing services to its member institutions that include data from medical, education, and health studies, as well as consulting. The AAMC administers the Medical College Admission Test and operates the American Medical College Application Service and the Electronic Residency Application Service. Along with the American Medical Association (AMA), the AAMC co-sponsors the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the accrediting body for all U.S. MD-granting medical education programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Residency (medicine)</span> Postgraduate medical training

Residency or postgraduate training is a stage of graduate medical education. It refers to a qualified physician, veterinarian, dentist or podiatrist (DPM) who practices medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, or podiatry, respectively, usually in a hospital or clinic, under the direct or indirect supervision of a senior medical clinician registered in that specialty such as an attending physician or consultant. In many jurisdictions, successful completion of such training is a requirement in order to obtain an unrestricted license to practice medicine, and in particular a license to practice a chosen specialty. In the meantime they practice "on" the license of their supervising physician. An individual engaged in such training may be referred to as a resident, registrar or trainee depending on the jurisdiction. Residency training may be followed by fellowship or sub-specialty training.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences</span> Health science university of the United States federal government

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) is a health science university of the U.S. federal government. The primary mission of the school is to prepare graduates for service to the U.S. at home and abroad in the medical corps as medical professionals, nurses, and physicians.

University admission or college admission is the process through which students enter tertiary education at universities and colleges. Systems vary widely from country to country, and sometimes from institution to institution.

The University of Providence is a private Roman Catholic university in Great Falls, Montana. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.

Pre-medical is an educational track that undergraduate students in the United States pursue prior to becoming medical students. It involves activities that prepare a student for medical school, such as pre-med coursework, volunteer activities, clinical experience, research, and the application process. Some pre-med programs providing broad preparation are referred to as “pre-professional” and may simultaneously prepare students for entry into a variety of first professional degree or graduate school programs that require similar prerequisites.

College application is the process by which individuals apply to gain entry into a college or university. Although specific details vary by country and institution, applications generally require basic background information of the applicant, such as family background, and academic or qualifying exam details such as grade point average in secondary school and standardized testing scores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common Application</span> Undergraduate college admission application

The Common Application is an undergraduate college admission application that applicants may use to apply to over 1,000 member colleges and universities in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, as well as in Canada, China, Japan, and many European countries.

The Canadian Resident Matching Service, abbreviated and most often referred to as CaRMS, is a national organization that provides the mandatory matching service for medical residency training throughout Canada.

The University of the Philippines College Admission Test, commonly known as UPCAT, is part of the admission requirements of the University of the Philippines, administered to graduates of Philippine and foreign high schools.

Medical school in the United States is a graduate program with the purpose of educating physicians in the undifferentiated field of medicine. Such schools provide a major part of the medical education in the United States. Most medical schools in the US confer upon graduates a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree, while some confer a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree. Most schools follow a similar pattern of education, with two years of classroom and laboratory based education, followed by two years of clinical rotations in a teaching hospital where students see patients in a variety of specialties. After completion, graduates must complete a residency before becoming licensed to practice medicine.

In Canada, a medical school is a faculty or school of a university that trains future medical doctors and usually offers a three- to five-year Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) or Doctor of Medicine and Master of Surgery degree. There are currently 17 medical schools in Canada with an annual admission success rate normally below 7.5%. As of 2021, approximately 11,500 students were enrolled in Canadian medical schools graduating 2,900 students per year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universal College Application</span> US-based organization

The Universal College Application is a US-based organization which provides college admission applications that allows students to apply to any of the participating colleges.

Marshall B. Ketchum University is a private university focused on graduate programs in healthcare and located in Fullerton, California. MBKU expanded from the Southern California College of Optometry which was founded in 1904. The university was officially established as a multidisciplinary university with the addition of School of PA Studies in 2011 and College of Pharmacy in 2013. Along with Hope International University, the campus bookends the north and south sides of the Cal State Fullerton campus respectively.

Software copyright in China in Chinese Law means that a creator or other Obligee enjoys exclusive rights of the software under related copyright law.

The Messianic Jewish Theological Institute (MJTI) is an online graduate school based out of San Diego, California established by the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations (UMJC) in 2002. It seeks to train rabbis, leaders, and laity by providing them with a unique Messianic Jewish education.

References