News / Announcements
News / Announcements
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 10, 2024) – The Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) recently voted to grant ten years of full accreditation to Bethune-Cookman University’s master’s in athletic training program, following a comprehensive review. Accreditation is granted on the basis of a program’s ability to facilitate quality outcomes, continuous improvement, innovation and diversity to enhance athletic training education.
Bethune-Cookman is the only accredited HBCU that offers a master’s degree in athletic training. The program successfully demonstrated competence in all 94 standards, with zero recommendations, and zero non-compliances, earning reaccreditation. Given that only 3-4% of licensed athletic trainers are African-American, it is significant that B-CU is the only HBCU producing graduates with this degree.
"Even though the African-American population makes up about 75% of all athletes in organized sports, there are less than 5% African-Americans working as Athletic Trainers in the state of Florida, and only 4% nationwide,” said Dr. Torrance Williams, chair of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Director of the Master of Athletic Training program. “Representation matters, and we believe that our patients respond better when treated by someone who shares the same ethnicity.”
This represents a key milestone in supporting the university’s charge to define new standards for academic excellence and student success by educating and empowering learners who will seek their own solutions; advocate opportunities for all citizens to improve their quality of life; and inculcate global perspectives and realities to people worldwide.
The Master of Athletic Training (MAT) program is a clinical program which produces clinicians who are eligible to sit for the national licensure exam and are able to provide care within sports medicine (concussion, extremity, spinal, or other injuries) and physical rehabilitation (limb, neurological trauma, and more).
“The re-accreditation status of the B-CU Athletic Training Program ensures that we are doing our small part to promote diversity among the Athletic Training profession for many years to come,” Williams added. “B-CU continues to strive to be the leader among all HBCUs and small liberal arts colleges in the Rehabilitation Sciences arena, and be the launching pad for other Athletic Training programs throughout the nation.”
About Bethune-Cookman University (B-CU)
Now in its 120th year, Bethune-Cookman University (B-CU) is a historically-Black university in Daytona Beach, Fla., founded by civil and human rights activist Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune in 1904 as the Daytona Educational and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls. With deep roots in the history of America, B-CU is a United Methodist-related, private institution largely focused on liberal arts programs to meet students’ diverse educational, social and cultural needs. The university is home to the nation’s #2 HBCU Nursing Program, a world-renowned marching band known as “The Pride,” and is a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
