Frequently Asked Questions

UMSAz offers programs on-line asynchronously to accommodate the working professional. Faculty/student meetings may be scheduled to provide student assistance if needed and student/student meetings to increase interactive collaboration.

UMSAz is currently going through the accreditation process for institutional accreditation as outlined by the accrediting agency. To aid in the understanding of what it means to be accredited, please see below statements from the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) as well as some general accreditation FAQ’s:

Accreditation does not provide automatic acceptance by an institution of credit earned at another institution, nor does it give assurance of acceptance of graduates by employers. Students should contact the receiving institution to help determine whether credits are transferrable. Acceptance of credit or graduates is always the prerogative of the receiving institution or employer. For these reasons, besides ascertaining the accredited status of an institution or program, students should take additional measures to determine, prior to enrollment, whether their educational goals will be met through attendance at a particular institution. Those measures should include inquiries to institutions to which transfer might be desired or to prospective employers, as well as any private or governmental entity responsible for licensing or certifying graduates to work in the field for which the educational program is intended. (College Accreditation in the United States– Pg 1)

U.S. Department of Education (USDE) states:

‘Institutional accreditation applies to an entire institution, indicating that each of an institution’s parts is contributing to the achievement of the institution’s objectives.’

(College Accreditation in the United States– Pg 1)

No, it is a voluntary process. However, it is required if a university would like to participate in the Title IV program (Federal Student Financial Aid program) offered by the USDE. The USDE states the following:

‘Accreditation’s quality assurance function is one of the three main elements of oversight governing the Higher Education Act’s (HEA’s) federal student aid programs. In order for students to receive federal student aid from the U.S. Department of Education (Department) for postsecondary study, the institution must be accredited by a “nationally recognized” accrediting agency (or, for certain vocational institutions, approved by a recognized state approval agency), be authorized by the State in which the institution is located, and receive approval from the Department through a program participation agreement.’ (College Accreditation in the United States– Pg 1)

*Please note UMSAz offers a non-interest bearing financial assistance payment plan.

According to the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) :

‘In the United States, institutions of higher education are permitted to operate with considerable independence and autonomy. The United States has no Ministry of Education or other centralized federal authority exercising control over the quality of postsecondary educational institutions, and the states assume varying degrees of control over education. As a consequence, American educational institutions can vary widely in the character and quality of their programs. To ensure a basic level of quality, the practice of accreditation arose in the United States as a means of conducting nongovernmental, peer evaluation of educational institutions and programs. With the passage of the HEA in 1965, Congress expanded agencies’ role by entrusting them with ensuring academic quality of the educational institutions at which federal student aid funds may be used subject to oversight by the federal government through the recognition process. Private educational associations have adopted criteria intended to reflect the qualities of a sound educational program and have developed procedures for evaluating institutions or programs to determine whether or not they are operating at basic levels of quality.’ (College Accreditation in the United States– Pg 1)

Due to the accreditation procedure being managed by the accrediting agency UMSAz is unable to give a timeframe on when the application process will be completed. UMSAz makes no guarantee that it will be granted accreditation by the accrediting agency.

UMSAz is scheduled for its seeking accreditation visit (SAV2) with WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) in Spring 2025.  You may view the accreditation journey HERE.

U.S. Department of Education (USDE) states:

‘There are two basic types of educational accreditation, one referred to as “institutional” and the other referred to as “specialized” or “programmatic.” Specialized or programmatic accreditation normally applies to programs, departments, or schools that are parts of an institution.’

(College Accreditation in the United States– Pg 1)

Examples of programmatic accreditors are ACOTE (Accreditation Commission on Occupational Therapy Education) and CAPTE (Commission on Accreditation of Physical Therapy Education).

APTA’s (American Physical Therapy Association) position regarding accreditation of Transitional Doctor of Physical Therapy (t-DPT) programs:
Post-professional or transitional physical therapy education programs are not accredited by CAPTE (Commission on Accreditation of Physical Therapy Education), which accredits only professional (entry-level) programs. (Directory of Transition DPT Programs | APTA). APTA has created the APTA Preferred Curricular Guide for the development of transitional (post-professional) Doctor of Physical Therapy (t-DPT) programs for institutions. The University of Medical Sciences Arizona fully endorses and has implemented the guidelines set forth by the APTA Curricular Guide in the development of its t-DPT curriculum.

AOTA’s (American Occupational Therapy Association) position regarding accreditation of Post-professional (Transitional) Doctor of Occupational Therapy programs:

Post-professional or transitional occupational therapy education programs are not accredited by ACOTE (Accreditation Commission on Occupational Therapy Education), which accredits only professional (entry-level) programs.