Peterson CA; University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA, USA. cpeterson@uop.edu.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore physical therapy department chairs’ perceptions of the extent to which their faculty members participated in the activities leading to accreditation, and whether or not this participation was associated with accreditation outcome. This study was conducted as a follow-up to a previous study that explored the relationships among accreditation outcome and management style employed by the chair, faculty participation in accreditation activities, faculty commitment to implementing the plans delineated in the accreditation documentation, and faculty support of the accreditation process (JOPTE, 17(2)). SUBJECTS: The sample for this study included physical therapy department chairs who completed the survey in 2001 about their program’s accreditation outcome and had faculty members that completed a survey in 2001 about their participation in accreditation activities. Of the 74 department chairs meeting the inclusion criteria, 52 responded to the follow-up survey (70% return rate). Data collected from this sample was analyzed against data from the previous study. The population for that study was all physical therapy chairs and faculty of those programs in the United States who had previously participated in the activities leading to accreditation. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Department chairpersons were asked to rate their levels of agreement with 15 statements regarding their faculty’s levels of participation in accreditation activities. ANALYSES: Paired t-tests, principle component factor analysis, and multiple linear regression were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Department chairs’ perceptions of the extent to which their faculty members participated in the activities leading to accreditation is significantly greater than the faculty’s self-perceptions of the same (paired t-test: t_{critical(.001,49)} = 3.265 t_observed = 3.5730). Multiple linear regression of accreditation outcome onto management style, chair perception of faculty participation, CAPTE support, and commitment to implement plans yielded no statistically significant association between chair perception of faculty participation and accreditation outcome. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study indicate that chairpersons perceive faculty participation in accreditation activities at a level greater than faculty self perceptions of the same. Interestingly, the level of faculty participation, whether perceived by the faculty themselves or the chair, is not associated with accreditation outcome. This study supports the findings from the original study concluding that the style of management employed by the chairperson is the most important factor associated with accreditation outcome. This study is of primary significance to directors of physical therapy programs, academic administrators overseeing physical therapy programs, physical therapy program faculty, and CAPTE. FUNDING SOURCE: None.

Copyright 2004 by the American Physical Therapy Association

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