PAEA Releases 2024 Student Surveys

Throughout the year, PAEA’s student surveys – Matriculating Student Survey (MSS) and End of Program Survey (EOPS) – collect data on PA school experiences, health and wellbeing, student satisfaction with their programs, and far more. Programs are sent all applicable survey information and the links to complete the surveys approximately two weeks before their program’s anticipated matriculation/graduation month.  

 Feedback from Students  

We have gotten a positive response from students on these surveys, emphasizing the importance that programs encourage students’ participation. Below are some comments students have made about the student surveys:  

• The intentionality and comprehensive nature behind the development of these surveys.   
• The emphasis and value of collecting mental health data during PA school.  
• The significance and subsequent impact of this data for programs to take a deeper look into the strengths and areas of improvement for their programs.  

Benefits to Members  

Published on PAEA’s website, the By the Numbers: Student Report series captures data across all participating programs on students at the start of their PA school journey and as their journey ends. Programs are also eligible to receive program-level data available at no cost to members. This provides programs with an in-depth look at how their students responded to many of these questions in the surveys, and programs may compare them to the national data published in our By the Numbers: Student Reports. 

Access to These Benefits  

Members may request two forms of student data, outlined below and found in the emails sent to program directors approximately two weeks prior to their matriculation/graduation month.  

Personalized Student Reports summarize individual programs’ student responses to selected questions from the student surveys. These questions were chosen to address several components of the ARC-PA Accreditation Standards for Physician Assistant Education (5th Ed.) or would otherwise be beneficial to programs.  

Raw identified or deidentified data for the MSS only. This data is intended for programs to analyze and interpret the data on their own. This form of data is invaluable for forming longitudinal student databases that tie together exam results, course grades, and PAEA student survey responses for program evaluation and educational outcomes research. 

Members interested in obtaining student data must meet the following:  

• Have a minimum of 50 percent of their matriculating/graduating cohort participate in the MSS or EOPS for 2024.  
• Submit a simple data request form: Personalized Student Insights and Raw Data (identified/deidentified).  
• Submit IRB approval or exemption along with the completed data request form before January 1, 2025 (for programs requesting raw identified/deidentified student data only).  

 To preview the questions asked in the 2024 student surveys, please refer to the blank copies of each instrument below.     

Download the Matriculating Student Survey

Download the End of Program Survey

   If you have any questions regarding the student surveys, please contact us at research@paeaonline.org.