Athletic Training/Sports Medicine

Vicki Shipman   ·  12/16/17

The LMI provided by the Center's of Excellence warranted another program in Athletic Training/Sports Medicine warrants the addition of one more AT program in the bay area. A copy of the COE report has been provided to DVC for review. Yes, it is understood that students need to pursue higher level degrees in order to be certified athletic trainers. The University of Pacific, Stockton, CA has representation on our advisory board as a good number of our students come from their area. At our last meeting, the professor shared with us that they are transitioning their program to a Master's degree by 2022. University partners have expressed a need for additional students to complete classes since programs are moving to a Master's. Close to 30% of our overall student population comes from the Central Valley therefore our recruitment and/or transfer opportunities may be primarily in the Central Valley (Tracy, Manteca, Lathrop, and Ripon). During the development of the program, Ohlone College's Chris Warden was contacted, he did not indicate LPC's program would be an impact; DVC's Jeff Roberts was contacted, he was unresponsive after many attempts to contact him.

Rosemary Delia   ·  12/15/17

DVC calls for discussion about this certificate. Both DVC and Ohlone have approved AS degree programs; adding a certificate in this area at LPC dilutes the already established programs and creates an oversupply. Changes in the field will require that students earn more than a certificate; they will need to transfer and pursue higher level degrees in order to become certified athletic trainers. Given that the professional entry-level degree for athletic training is moving from a bachelor’s to a master’s, adding a certificate program at this point in time does not serve students well. All programs are mandated to transition to a master’s degree level by 2022 which indicates that there will likely be little demand for a certificate. DVC and Ohlone have been pursuing opportunities with transfer institutions to create seamless transfer for our students; given the changes in transfer programs, the timing is not right to be starting a certificate program as there will likely be little demand for it.