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Technical Standards

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 provides comprehensive civil rights protection to people with disabilities. The ADA “prohibits all programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance from discrimination against individuals with disabilities who are ‘otherwise qualified’ to participate in those programs”. The Athletic Training Program at Concordia University Irvine is a rigorous and intense program that places specific requirements and demands on students. An objective of this program is to prepare graduates to enter a variety of employment settings and to render care to a wide spectrum of individuals engaged in physical activity. The technical standards set forth by the Athletic Training Program establish the physical, cognitive, and attitudinal abilities considered necessary for an entry level athletic trainer.

The AT Program at Concordia University Irvine places specific requirements that challenge the student intellectually, physically and psychologically. The technical standards are set forth to establish the abilities that an athletic trainer must have to practice safely. They are described by the National Athletic Trainer's Association and meet the expectations of the program's accrediting agency (CAATE). The following abilities and expectations must be met by all students admitted to the ATEP. In the event a student is unable to fulfill these technical standards, with or without reasonable accommodations. Compliance with the programs technical standards does not guarantee a student’s eligibility for the BOC certification exam.

  • Observation: The student must have the ability to use vision, hearing and somatic sensations. A student must be able to participate in lectures and laboratory demonstrations. The student must be able to observe and palpate a patient accurately.
  • Communication: The student must have the ability to communicate effectively and sensitively with patients and colleagues. This includes members of the health care and athletic communities as well as individuals from different cultural, social and religious backgrounds. Students must be able to convey information effectively. Students must be able to read, understand and speak the English language at a level consistent with competent professional practice.
  • Motor and Sensory Function: The student must have sufficient postural and neuromuscular control, sensory function and coordination to perform and elicit information from the patient examination. The student must be able to safely and efficiently use equipment and materials during the assessment, treatment and rehabilitation of patients. The student must perform appropriate skills requiring the coordination of both fine and gross motor muscular movement and equilibrium.
  • Intellectual Abilities: The student must be able to measure, calculate, reason, analyze and integrate information in a timely fashion. The student must be able to formulate assessment and therapeutic judgment and be able to distinguish deviations from the norm.
  • Behavioral and Social Attributes: The student must have the capacity to maintain composure and continue to function well during periods of high stress. The student must have the flexibility and the ability to adjust to changing situations and uncertainty in clinical situations. The student must have the perseverance, diligence and commitment to complete the athletic training program as outlined and sequenced.

Reasonable Accommodations: A student must demonstrate the above skills and abilities, but may do so with or without reasonable accommodations. Concordia University will provide reasonable accommodations to students to enable them to meet these technical standards. Program Applicants will be required to verify that they understand and meet the above technical standards or that they believe that, with certain accommodations, they can meet these standards. All students will be evaluated first with regard to their academic and program qualifications and all students will be evaluated using a rating systems in the competitive admissions process. To promote fairness and equality, the program seeks to identify a suitable candidate before discussing anyone’s disability status. Once a determination is made that a candidate is ’otherwise qualified’, discussions will begin regarding whether the Athletic Training Program can make reasonable accommodations to a student who has identified that they require accommodations. Compliance with the Program’s technical standards does not guarantee a student’s eligibility for the BOC© certification exam. Students with a concern, should contact the BOC© for the specific technical standards needed to take the certification examination (bocatc.org). Students seeking academic accommodations must provide medical documentation of their disability and comply with the procedures of Concordia University and the Disability and Learning Center (DLCR). Failure to give notice or provide detailed information to the DLCR may result in your accommodations being delayed or your requests being denied. You may view the DLCR policies at www.cui.edu/studentlife/disability-access-services.

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