FAMU working to raise cardiopulmonary licensure passage rate

The Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Therapy (CoARC) has placed FAMU's Cardiopulmonary Science Program on probation for not meeting the required 80 percent three-year average based on the 2010 Annual Report of Current Status benchmark on the national licensure examination. The program remains accredited.

The program’s two-year rate was 89.5 percent and 90.0 percent for 2009 and 2010, respectively. Its 2008 passage rate of 50 percent reduced the three-year average to 71 percent, which led to the probation status.

The CoARC probationary accreditation is usually limited to one year. But the program may apply for an extension up to two years before any further adverse action is taken.

During this week's Board of Trustees meeting, Provost Cynthia Hughes-Harris explained that a number of FAMU's cardiopulmonary science students decline to take the licensure exam because they opt to go on medical school or graduate school instead of becoming respiratory therapists. This counts against FAMU's overall passage rate.