Mission & Goals
The Master of Health Sciences Physician Assistant Studies program is housed within the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine in the Department of Health Sciences.
School of Medicine Mission Statement
We are proud to support the mission of the UNC School of Medicine, and grateful to serve the people of North Carolina.
Goals Measures and Outcomes
1 UNC-CH classifies non-traditional status to applicants who are >26 years of age at time of application.
2 UNC specifically recruits veterans who served in a medical capacity.
Measures of Success 1: Recruitment events for non-traditional and veteran applicants
Benchmark: Minimum of 2 events annually with a focus for nontraditional and military/veteran applicants
Outcomes: 2025: One PAEA admissions fair and one programmatic admission informational session.
Measures of Success 2: Applicants who are nontraditional or military/veteran
Benchmark: 25% of all applicants
Outcomes:
- 2021: 31% of all applicants
- 2022: 27% of all applicants
- 2023: 25% of all applicants
- 2024: 23% of all applicants
- 2025: 26% of all applicants
Measures of Success 1: Engagement of students with optional interprofessional experiences
Benchmark: >50% attendance or participation
Outcomes:
- 55% of the preclinical cohort for the class of 2026 volunteered at the interprofessional SHAC clinic
Measures of Success 2: Graduate survey
Benchmark: ≥3.5 on Likert scale
Outcomes: Graduates in the class of 2024 agreed (4.4/5 with 42% response rate) they were well-prepared to practice in interprofessional patient-centered teams.
Measures of Success 1: 5-year first-time test taker PANCE performance
Benchmark: At national average
Outcomes: The UNC PA Program 5-year (2021-2025) first-time PANCE pass rate is 97.8% exceeding the national average of 92%.
Measures of Success 2: All-time PANCE performance
Benchmark: At national average
Outcomes:
- The UNC PA Program 5-year (2021-2025) all-time PANCE pass rate is 100% exceeding the national average of 89%.
Measures of Success 3: Graduate and alumni surveys
Benchmark: Likert scale3 ≥3.5
Outcomes: Graduates in the class of 2024 agreed (4.8/5 with 42% response rate) the program provided them with a strong foundation for generalist practice.
3 Likert Scale: 1 – Strongly Disagree to 5 – Strongly Agree
Measures of Success 1: Clinical experience opportunities
Benchmark: Develop and maintain at least 2 clinical experience opportunities in medically under resourced communities.
Outcomes:
- Offered 75 rotation spots in medically underserved communities for academic year 2025 and 85 rotation spots in academic year 2026.
- 55% of the class of 2026 volunteered at at SHAC clinic.
Measures of Success 2: Graduate survey
Benchmark: ≥3.5 Likert scale3
Outcomes: Graduates in the class of 2024 agree (4.4/5 with 42% response rate) the program prepared them for practice in underresourced communities.4
3 Likert Scale: 1 – Strongly Disagree to 5 – Strongly Agree
4 Under resourced communities defined by a NC Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) score ≥14, patients served by any county health department and/or any Federally Qualified Health Center.