CoAES Annual Report Instructions

NOTE:

• Annual Reports (AR) are due July 1st. If an extension or alternate submission date is required, please contact Gina M. Cortese, M.S. (gcortese@coaes.org) with the request and rationale.

Annual Report changes/updates:

Outcomes

• As a reminder: Employer Satisfaction Surveys (return rate and satisfaction): Per CAAHEP's Standards, internship agency supervisors cannot act as an "Employer" and therefore cannot be used for Employer Satisfaction.  
• The CoAES recognizes that programs have difficulty meeting this outcome.  The following is a solution agreed upon by the CoAES and CAAHEP.
• Employer Satisfaction Surveys Outcome (revised 2023)
  Employer Survey Return Rate: Reported
  Employer Survey Satisfaction Rate: Reported
  • Employer Survey Instructions: Report the percentage return rate and the degree to which employers are satisfied with employees who are graduates of your program. Program Directors should make every effort to determine if employers are satisfied with employees who are graduates of your program. The CoAES recognizes that return rates are generally low, therefore discussions with Advisory Board members who are also employers are suggested as an alternative mechanism to gather this information. 
• Requried: Program Enrollment: Reported
  • The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) is now requiring that all accredited programs report the number of enrolled students. The CoA realizes that this number will change year to year and is often out of the control of the program. Programs will not be penalized/noncompliant if their student enrollment changes.

Programmatic Outcomes Benchmarks (CoAES thresholds are in bold):

• All outcomes are required.  If the program cannot report outcomes data  or do not meet the minimum threshold, please provide reasoning and a strategy for meeting the outcome. 
• Retention: 70%
• Culminating Experience:
  • National Credentialing Exam: Reported/Pass Rate 
  • Internship/project: Pass rate 50%
• Graduation Rate: Rate reported
• Graduate Positive Placement: 80%
• Employer Satisfaction Surveys
  • Employer Survey: Return Rate: Reported
  • Employer Survey: Satisfaction Rate: Reported
• Graduate Satisfaction Surveys
  • Graduate Survey: Return Rate: 50%
  • Graduate Survey: Satisfaction Rate: 85%

Non-outcome Progrommatic Reporting Requirements

• Advisory Board: Date of meeting and attendance. Indicate the community of interest each advisory board member represents (ex: Ms. Jane Doe, M.S., Fitness Director YMCA, Community Recreation)
• Outcome Publication: URL Provided 
• Program Enrollment: Reported

 General Reminders:

• You can save your progress and resume the form later.
• Before you sign the Annual Report, be sure to hit the PRINT button and print a copy of your Annual Report to a PDF for your own records!

Clink this LINK to download a blank competency matching form for Exercise Science (ES).

Clicnk this LINK to download a blank competency matching form for the Strength & Conditioning Add-on.

Clink this LINK to download a blank competency matching form for Physical Fitness Trainer (PFT).

Click this LINK to download a blank Standard Biographical Sketch Form

The CoAES recommends the following method to calculate retention rate (as defined by U.S Department of Education). Retention rate can be based on the percentage of first-time, full-time students who enroll in the program and return to the institution the following year. Programs are free to modify this however they need in order to report what they believe is the most accurate representation of retention for their program. In the space provided, please provide the rationale and method the program uses to determine retention rate.

Example of retention outcome:

Newly enrolled students Fall 2021 = 36

Students that returned in Fall 2022 = 34

Newly enrolled students Spring 2022 = 22

Students that returned in Spring 2023 = 21

Example of 5-year retention 

CoAES Benchmark: 70%

“National credentialing examinations” are those accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA). Participation rates on national credentialing examination(s) performance may be considered in determining whether or not a program meets the designated threshold, provided the credentialing examination or an alternative examination is available to be administered prior to graduation from the program. Results from an alternative examination may be accepted, if designated as equivalent by the organization whose credentialing examination is so accredited.

If you are having difficulty veryfying if students took/passed an NCCA certification you can go to the US Registry of Exercise Professionals (USREPS) and click on "Verify Employees" 

CoAES Benchmark: number of students that took a certification exam and the associated pass rate.

The culminating experience may be met by an internship, mentorship, research project etc..  In the analysis of results please describe what you are using as the culminating experience and the criteria used to determine if a student has passed.

CoAES Benchmark: 50% 

Please list the number of graduates and the graduation rate for each academic year below.  In the space provided please detail how the graduation rate was caluclated or determined.

Example:

A) Graduation rate is the percentage of a programs first-time, first-year student who completes the program within 150% of the published time for the program. 

B) Graduation rate is the percentage of a programs students that are enrolled in a specified course (Physiology of Exercise) who complete the program within 150% of the remaining time.  Physiology of Exercise is taken in semester four (4) in a eight (8) semester long program.  The remaining time would be four (4) semesters.  If a student enrolled in Physiology of Exercise graduates in four (4) to six (6) semesters, they would be used in the caluclation of graduation rate. 

CoAES Benchmark: Reported

The following are criteria for positive graduate placement:

• graduated from the program one (1) year ago
• admittance to a higher-level degree program in exercise science or related program
• employment in the exercise profession or a related field
• military service

*If the program has more than one graduating class per year, combine outcomes data for each graduating class and report the overall average.

*If this is the first annual report since being awarded initial accreditation, a mechanism should be put in place to collect graduate placement data for next year’s annual report.

To determine positive placement percentage, divide the sum of graduates that met criteria for positive placement by the total number of graduates.

CoAES Benchmark: 80%

Employer Satisfaction Return Rate: To determine the survey return rate, divide the number of surveys returned by the total number of surveys sent.

* If the program has more than one graduating class per year, combine outcomes data for each graduating class and report the overall average.

* If the return rate is below the CoAES benchmark, please describe the mechanism for how the program plans to collect data for future annual reports.

Example:

Three (3) advisory board members currently employ program graduates.  Two (2) internship supervisors employ program graduates.  Five (5) surveys were sent out and four (4) were returned for a return rate of 80%.

CoAES Benchmark for Employer Survey Return Rate: Reported

Employer Satisfaction Survey

Employer Satisfaction: To determine the employer satisfaction, divide number of satisfactory surveys by the total number of surveys returned. A satisfactory survey must have at least 88% of the questions rated 3 or greater on the 5 point Likert scale (or similar scale).

* If the program has more than one graduating class per year, combine outcomes data for each graduating class and report the overall average.

Example: 

Of the four (4) surveys returned four (4) had satisfaction rates above 88% for a Satisfaction Rate of 100%

CoAES Benchmark: Reported

Return Rate: To determine the survey return rate, divide the number of surveys returned by the total number of surveys sent. 

CoAES Benchmark = 50% 

Graduate Satisfaction: To determine the graduate satisfaction rating, divide number of satisfactory surveys by the total number of surveys returned.  A satisfactory survey must have 75% of the questions rated 3 or greater on the 5-point Likert scale (or similar scale).

CoAES Benchmark: 85%