Last updated: August 20, 2021
                                                                       Contact: accreditation@apta.org
                                   APPLICATION FOR CANDIDACY (AFC)
                                       INSTRUCTIONS AND FORMS
                                               FOR BOTH
                                         PTA and PT PROGRAMS
                                         Changes are highlighted;
                                              August 2021
                                               March 2021
                                              January 2021
                                            September 2020
                                              August 2020
                                               March 2020
                                             February 2020
                           Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education
                                   American Physical Therapy Association
                                       3030 Potomac Ave., Suite 100
                                      Alexandria, Virginia 22305-3085
                                             (703) 706-3245
                                          accreditation@apta.org
                 APPLICATION FOR CANDIDACY INSTRUCTIONS
       Rules regarding what constitutes an AFC that is eligible for further review are found in 
       Part 7 of CAPTE's Rules of Practice and Procedure; programs are expected to follow the 
       most current version of this document. It is the program's responsibility to make 
       appropriate changes in their AFC should Rule changes occur. 
       This document is for BOTH PTA and PT programs that are developing an Application for 
       Candidacy (AFC); it delineates any differences based on the type (PTA or PT) of program.
       IMPORTANT: Directions for using the Portal are in the document Directions for 
       Submitting Accreditation Reports on the CAPTE Portal that is available from the Portal; 
       click the Access to Additional Needed Materials link that is found above the AFC Grid. 
       The Directions document must be reviewed prior to developing the AFC. 
       PREVIEWING THE AFC ON THE PORTAL
       Programs can download and print (or save as a PDF) the report at any time during 
       development. Programs are encouraged to download the AFC periodically to ensure proper 
       development.
       SUBMISSION OF THE AFC
       The AFC must be submitted on the Portal no later than 11:59:59 pm on the day it is due based 
       on the assigned Candidacy cycle, even if the due date falls over the weekend or a holiday. No 
       paper submissions will be accepted. The Portal will not allow the report to be submitted if there 
       are any validation errors. The CAPTE Accreditation Portal can be accessed at: 
       http://capteportal.capteonline.org/Pages/Login.aspx. Access to the Portal requires a username 
       and password that has been provided to the program director.
       All materials must be provided in English, regardless of whether the program is offered in a 
       different language.
       SIGNATURE PAGE
       The Signature Page can be accessed from the Program Information box at the top of the 
       program's CAPTE Portal page; click on the link: Print Signature Page. The correct signature 
       page must be used for the program to be eligible for further review; the language on the 
       signature page must match the requirements delineated in Part 7 of CAPTE's Rules of Practice 
       and Procedure. Should any changes be needed to names, degrees, or titles, send the 
       requested change(s) to accreditation@apta.org. Submission of any change in personnel must 
       include the individual's name, credentials (degrees), title, email address and phone number. DO
       NOT WAIT UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO OBTAIN SIGNATURES TO SEND CHANGES! 
       Depending on Accreditation Department activities, changes may not be able to be made prior to 
       when you need it. If necessary, handwrite changes on the form, obtain signatures and submit 
       the form. The signed signature page must be scanned and attached as an appendix to the
       Preface prior to submitting the AFC. Electronic signatures within a PDF document are 
       acceptable.
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       STANDARDS & REQUIRED ELEMENTS
       The AFC is divided into eight Standards: 
         1. Mission, Goals, Outcomes
         2. Assessment, Planning
         3. Institution & Program Integrity
         4. Program Faculty
         5. Students
         6. Curriculum Plan
         7. Curricular Content
         8. Resources
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                  Required Elements are included under each Standard. The AFC requirements for each Element
                  are delineated as lists of evidence, which is information needed to determine if the requirement 
                  is met. Evidence requested for Portal Fields and Narrative responses is included in the 
                  appropriate (PTA or PT) Standards and Required Elements for Accreditation. The lists of 
                  required Appendices and On-site Materials are included in this document. Instructions for 
                  preparing and submitting these documents must be carefully reviewed before beginning 
                  development of the report. Failure to follow instructions may result in the AFC not being 
                  accepted as eligible for further review.
                  PREFACE
                  The Preface, which precedes the Narrative, serves as an introduction to the AFC. The AFC 
                  document delineates the information that is required. Appendices uploaded to the preface will 
                  NOT be available to the reviewers. Therefore, only upload and attach requested appendices, 
                  AFC Signature Page and AFC Check In Form, to the Preface.
                  NARRATIVE
                  Narrative responses must first be created in Word (or equivalent) and only pasted into the Portal
                  when complete. This is especially important since there is no spell check on the Portal. See 
                  Formatting Narrative Responses in the Directions for Submitting Accreditation Reports on the 
                  CAPTE Portal. Periodically download and view the report as formatting can change when 
                  responses are pasted into the Portal.
                  Each Element requires a Narrative response, or you will receive a validation error and be 
                  unable to submit the report. If applicable, the response can refer the reader to a previous 
                  Element of the AFC. Each Narrative response is limited to 5,000 characters; therefore, care 
                  should be taken to:
                           a.   provide all requested information;
                           b. not repeat information; refer the reader back to previously provided information; 
                           c.   not repeat terms that are unnecessary. For example, use ‘students’ rather than 
                                ‘students in the program’; use ‘program’ rather than the ‘physical therapy program’ or
                                ‘Potomac College's physical therapist assistant program’; and
                           d.   define abbreviations the first time used; such as “Potomac College (PC)”, 
                                “Application for Candidacy (AFC)”, etc.
                  Tip: If there is an inconsistency between the character count in Portal and the character count 
                  in Word, use the character count in Word
                  Note: Although the text editing features allow for a great deal of formatting (such as text color, 
                  font selection, size, inserting images, etc.), we remind users to please keep text formatting 
                  basic. This helps to make things easier for reviewers and staff. Images such as pictures/charts 
                  should continue to be added as appendix items if the program wishes to include them as part of 
                  a response. 
                  Font & Font Size: The narrative response text should be of a consistent Font type and Font 
                  Size. The Font Size must be no smaller than 12 and no larger than 14. It is especially 
                  important when copying from multiple source documents to ensure that the font & font size are 
                  consistent for all responses. Preferred fonts include Arial and Tahoma. Times New Roman is 
                  NOT recommended.
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