The Bethany College Athletic Training Education Program (ATEP) was granted accreditation status from the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) in August 2008. The mission of the CAATE is to provide comprehensive accreditation services to institutions that offer Athletic Training degree programs and verify that all CAATE-accredited programs meet the acceptable educational standards for professional (entry-level) athletic training education.

 

The CAATE is sponsored by the National Athletic Trainers Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), the American Academy of Pediatricians (AAP) and the American Orthopaedic Society of Sports Medicine (AOSSM). Three important collaborators also help shape athletic training education; the NATA publishes the content and skills that are to taught and evaluated in entry-level programs; the CAATE publishes national standards of required components and processes for programs offering entry-level AT Education; and, the Board of Certification (BOC) determines the ability to practice as an entry-level Athletic Trainer. Of note is that the BOC will accept only CAATE-accredited program graduates. 

 

The accreditation of the Bethany College ATEP curriculum affords athletic training students who have completed the academic requirements of the program to sit for the BOC examination. Successful completion of the BOC examination enables a student to enter into practice as a board certified athletic trainer (ATC).