Program Accreditation
At its September 2025 meeting, the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA) placed the St. Catherine University Physician Assistant Program sponsored by St. Catherine University on Accreditation-Probation status until its next review in October 2027.
Probation accreditation is a temporary accreditation status initially of not less than two years. However, that period may be extended by the ARC-PA for up to an additional two years if the ARC-PA finds that the program is making substantial progress toward meeting all applicable standards but requires additional time to come into full compliance.
Probation accreditation status is granted, at the sole discretion of the ARC-PA, when a program holding an accreditation status of Accreditation - Provisional or Accreditation - Continued does not, in the judgment of the ARC-PA, meet the Standards or when the capability of the program to provide an acceptable educational experience for its students is threatened.
Once placed on probation, a program that fails to comply with accreditation requirements in a timely manner, as specified by the ARC-PA, may be scheduled for a focused site visit and is subject to having its accreditation withdrawn.
Specific questions regarding the Program and its plans should be directed to the Program Director and/or the appropriate institutional official(s).
The program’s accreditation history can be viewed on the ARC-PA website at:
https://www.arc-pa.org/accreditation-history-st-catherine-university/
ARC-PA Student Attrition
| ARC-PA Student Attrition Measurements | Graduated Classes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class of 2020 | Class of 2021 | Class of 2022 | Class of 2023 | Class of 2024 | |
| Maximum entering class size (as approved by ARC-PA) | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 |
| Enter Class Size | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 |
| Graduates | 31 | 31 | 32 | 31 | 30 |
| *Attrition rate | .031 | .031 | 0 | .063 | .063 |
| **Graduation rate | .968 | .968 | 1.0 | .938 | .938 |
*Attrition rate calculation: Number of students who attrited from cohort divided by the entering class size.
**Graduation rate: Number of cohort graduates divided by the entering class size.
MPAS National Certification Exam (PANCE) Scores
See below for the first-time taker pass rate and score information for physician assistant students who graduated in the last five years. Once PANCE first-time taker pass rates are available for future classes they will be displayed for public information.
Five Year First Time Taker Summary
Five Year First Time Taker Summary Report
| CLASS | NUMBER OF FIRST-TIME TAKERS | PROGRAM FIRST TIME TAKER PASS RATE | NATIONAL FIRST-TIME TEST TAKER PASS RATE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 31 | 97% | 95% |
| 2021 | 31 | 100% | 93% |
| 2022 | 32 | 97% | 92% |
| 2023 | 31 | 97% | 92% |
| 2024 | 29 | 100% | 92% |
Five-Year First Time Taker Average Pass Rate for Program: 98%
Five-Year National First Time Taker Average: 93%
NCCPA PANCE Exam Performance Summary
NCCPA PANCE Exam Performance Summary Report Last 5 years
| CLASS | CLASS GRADUATION YEAR | GROUP | NUMBER OF CANDIDATES WHO TOOK PANCE | NUMBER OF EXAM ATTEMPTS | NUMBER OF EXAMS PASSED | PROGRAM EXAM PASS RATE | NATIONAL EXAM PASS RATE | % OF CANDIDATES WHO ULTIMATELY PASSED PANCE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class of 2020 | 2020 | All Takers | 31 | 32 | 31 | 97% | 93% | 100% |
| First Time Takers | 31 | 31 | 30 | 97% | 95% | 100% | ||
| Class of 2021 | 2021 | All Takers | 31 | 31 | 31 | 100% | 89% | 100% |
| First Time Takers | 31 | 31 | 31 | 100% | 92% | 100% | ||
| Class of 2022 | 2022 | All Takers | 32 | 33 | 32 | 97% | 89% | 100% |
| First Time Takers | 32 | 32 | 31 | 97% | 92% | 100% | ||
| Class of 2023 | 2023 | All Takers | 31 | 32 | 31 | 97% | 89% | 100% |
| First Time Takers | 31 | 31 | 30 | 97% | 92% | 100% | ||
| Class of 2024 | 2024 | All Takers | 29 | 29 | 29 | 100% | 92% | 100% |
| First Time Takers | 29 | 29 | 29 | 100% | 92% | 100% |
Program Goals
The MPAS program measures the success of meeting the program's goals through evaluations made by our graduates.