Athletic training program to end undergraduate level

Beginning Summer B 2018, incoming freshmen won’t be able to apply for the undergraduate athletic training bachelor’s program in the College of Health and Human Performance.

The Strategic Alliance, a group of national athletic boards, mandated that accredited programs won’t admit students into the undergraduate athletic training program after Fall 2022, said Patricia Tripp, the clinical associate professor in the undergraduate athletic training program. She said the program’s current students won’t be affected

Tripp said UF won’t accept students into the program in 2018 because it wouldn’t make sense to re-accredit the program, only for it to exist for one year.

UF will redistribute money to replace the graduate athletic training program with a Doctor of Athletic Training Program, Tripp said.

“It’s not that we’re shutting down this post-professional opportunity, we’re just transitioning it to a more appropriate level,” Tripp said.

The new Doctor of Athletic Training Program is expected to accept a maximum of about 25 students per year, starting in Summer B 2020, Tripp said.

“You’re going to look for an opportunity that’s going to elevate your credentials,” she said. “We’re creating a brand new program at the doctor level so we could grab those students that are getting that professional masters.”

Tripp said shifts in the athletic training industry caused the program change.

“Because of the evolution of our profession, the bachelor’s level program is going to potentially be obsolete, and then there will be this need for this doctor of athletic training type of program in order to capture those students who want advanced practice,” she said.

Sabrina Parks, a UF athletic training junior, said she heard rumors but officially learned of the changes in Summer.

“At first, I was a little taken aback by it, but I think it’s a really good move for our profession, allowing students to have a higher education going into the work field,” the 28-year-old said. “I just think it’s a big shock to everybody because people don’t like change.”

@Christina_M18

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