California State University Monterey Bay will close its Masters of Science Physician Assistant program in May following a loss of accreditation.
The university’s physician assistant degree program kicked off in 2019 and 29 students from the inaugural cohort graduated in 2021. To help establish the program, Montage Health donated $600,000 and Central California Alliance for Health contributed $750,000.
University President Vanya Quiñones announced the change in accreditation status to the campus community Monday.
The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. placed the university on accreditation-probation status in 2021 until the agency’s following review in September 2023.
According to CSU Monterey Bay’s physician assistant program website, probationary accreditation is a temporary accreditation status for no less than two years, but can be renewed by the agency for an additional two years if the agency finds that the program is making “substantial progress” toward meeting all standards but requires additional time to come into full compliance.
“Once placed on probation, a program that fails to comply with accreditation requirements in a timely manner, as specified by the (agency), may be scheduled for a focused site visit and is subject to having its accreditation withdrawn,” the university’s website says.
The university did not elaborate further on why CSU Monterey Bay’s program lost accreditation, but Quiñones’ email explained that after visiting the campus last spring, the agency decided to withdraw the university’s probationary accreditation.
“In working through the impacts of the program closure, our top priority is to ensure that our students are supported in finding a path forward to complete their degrees,” Quiñones said in the email.
According to Quiñones, the program’s 2024 graduating cohort – consisting of 27 students – will be able to finish their degrees and graduate from an accredited program before the change occurs.
Quiñones said the university is working with the class of 2025 – which includes 29 students – to find alternative programs for them and will be refunding deposits for students who had planned to start the program in January 2024. Tuition for the class of 2024 cost $108,283 and tuition for the class of 2026 would have cost $149,400.
The loss of accreditation does not affect other programs on campus or the university-wide accreditation, Quiñones clarified.
“After we have resolved our immediate concerns for current students, Associate Provost Cindy Juntunen and Interim Dean Vanessa Lopez-Littleton will work with us to begin the process of re-evaluating how we can move forward with a successful program in the future if we determine that is best for the university and the community,” Quiñones concluded in the email.
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