Jan 29, 2015

Next Generation

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has predicted that in the 10-year period from 2008 to 2018, athletic training job opportunities will grow almost 37 percent. In response, universities are looking to provide more accredited athletic training education programs for students.
Just last week, the University of Missouri’s Board of Curators unanimously approved the addition of an athletic training education program. The school plans to begin offering the major in 2013, pending approval from the state Coordinating Board for Higher Education.

“Lots of prospective students want the program, and we have to send them off to other places,” Richard Oliver, Dean of the School of Health Professions, told MU’s student newspaper, The Maneater. “We have a cohort of students interested in sports medicine or athletic training, and many of them volunteer in the athletic department right now. They too are often disappointed that there’s not a formal degree program where they can get their athletic training credentials.”

Some of the steps necessary before the 2013-14 school year rolls around include hiring a director of the program, hiring faculty members, and creating 22 new classes. School officials plan to begin admitting 40 students per graduating class into the program when it debuts.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reported that MU’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and the Athletic Department will contribute startup funds and provide clinical experiences to students in the program. The school’s other medical facilities are also expected to offer similar opportunities.

Just north of MU, Iowa State University has offered an athletic training major through the Department of Kinesiology and Health since the 1980s, but the current setup means its athletic training students graduate with a degree in kinesiology and health–not athletic training. Unless the school passes a proposal that creates a bachelor of science in athletic training, its athletic training majors will not be recognized by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE).

CAATE mandated that all current accredited schools give athletic training its own degree program by the 2014-15 school year. Without accreditation from the CAATE, Iowa State students will not be permitted to sit for the Board of Certification exam.

The Iowa State Daily reported that the current athletic training program averages between 120 and 130 students. If the proposal to create the major passes, athletic training students who graduate after May 2012 will receive a bachelor of science in athletic training.

Abigail Funk is the managing editor of Training & Conditioning.