MVCC’s radiologic-technology degree program earns accreditation

UTICA, N.Y. — The radiologic-technology associate-degree program at Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC) has earned an eight-year accreditation.

The Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT) approved the accreditation for the MVCC program following a “thorough review,” the school said in a news release.

The program also previously held the eight-year JRCERT accreditation, prior to transitioning from St. Luke’s Healthcare to MVCC, according to the school’s release.

The Chicago, Illinois–based JRCERT is the “only” agency that the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation recognizes for the accreditation of “traditional and distance-delivery” educational programs in radiography, radiation therapy, magnetic resonance, and medical dosimetry, according to the JRCERT website.

The six standards that JRCERT follows in its accreditation process are integrity; resources; curriculum and academic practices; health and safety; assessment; and institutional/programmatic data, MVCC said.

“Specialized accreditation awarded by the JRCERT offers the college significant value by providing peer evaluation and assuring the public of quality professional education in the radiologic sciences,” Mary Kate LaPaglia, program coordinator of radiologic technology, said in the MVCC news release.

The radiologic-technology degree program is required to file an interim report in 2020. The JRCERT will then determine if the program will maintain the accreditation award or if it needs to reduce the accreditation.

If the program maintains it, the JRCERT will schedule its next site visit for 2024.

About the program
The radiologic-technology program, which MVCC describes as the “only program of its kind in Central New York,” includes two years of study in the theory and practice of x-ray technology.

Instructors teach the program’s academic courses at the MVCC Utica campus. Students also complete their clinical study in Faxton Medical Clinic’s “newly renovated non-energized lab,” the school said.

The required clinical internship involves “learning the art and science” of medical radiography through demonstrations; case studies; and supervised practice of “routine” diagnostic procedures using “state-of-the-art” equipment throughout the entire two years of education.

MVCC describes the program as “very competitive,” with only 21 seats available in each cohort.

For the Fall 2016 semester, 120 students qualified for the program out of 200 that had applied to MVCC for consideration.

The program has a 95 percent completion rate, and 86 percent of students who attempted to earn national certification “were successful.”

Students who sought employment after graduation had a 100 percent placement rate within six months, according to MVCC.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com