Uncovering Opportunities for Support: A Gap Analysis of Integrated Systems in Assisting PA Students at Risk of Academic Failure

Abstract

The Physician Assistant Graduate Institute (pseudonym) is currently on accreditation probation by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). This investigation delves deep into PAGI student support strategies, investigating how its current systems and processes address the academic and non-academic predictors of student achievement. This sequential explanatory, mixed-methods investigation began with a thorough document and artifact review, which informed faculty interview questions and then shaped an exploration of the systems in place that supports student success. Using these three data streams, we identified how PAGI captures relevant student data and identified tools available to PAGI that can support the early identification of students needing advanced academic support. The institute lacks an understanding of key indicators that may predict student academic achievement and a data strategy that can consistently capture academic and non-academic factors related to student success.