June 22, 2006

Contact: Gordon Ovenshine: 724-738-4854; gordon.ovenshine@sru.edu

SRU’S ATHLETIC TRAINING MAJOR RE-ACCREDITED

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Slippery Rock University’s athletic training major has been re-accredited for five years by the Florida-based Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, the nation’s largest accreditor of health sciences programs.

        “For graduates to become certified athletic trainers, which opens up many more job options, they have to graduate from an accredited athletic training program,” SRU’s Bonnie Siple, assistant professor exercise and rehabilitative sciences and athletic training chair, said. “The job market is really opening up in the areas of wellness, military and industry, and this endorsement will help.”

           CAAHEP re-accredited the major after reviewing SRU’s curriculum, faculty and job placement success, Siple said.  CAAHEP reviews more than 2,000 educational programs nationwide annually, according to its Web site.

          Athletic trainers specialize in the prevention, assessment, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries sustained by athletes and the physically active. They work for professional sports teams, at high schools and colleges, clinics, hospitals and other settings requiring healthcare.

           SRU’s major has been accredited since 1974, Siple said, and has 120 majors enrolled for fall semester.

           “It’s a diverse field,” Siple said. “Athletic trainers cover poor posture, wellness, first aid, weight loss, blood pressure reduction and numerous applications with the physically active.”

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