“MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — MTSU professor Helen Binkley along with master instructor Kristi Phillips were committed to transitioning their high-quality undergraduate degree program in Athletic Training to a master’s when new industry accreditation requirements loomed.
“Our options were either to teach out the undergraduate program until the last chance possible before discontinuing AT altogether or take the steps required to move our program to the master’s level,” Phillips said. “We did not want to lose a program that had produced such quality students over my two decades at MTSU.”
To make the transition happen, Binkley, program director, wrote a program proposal and worked together with Sonya Sanderson, chair in the Department of Health and Human Performance, to get it approved by university administration and filed paperwork with the state and athletic training education accrediting body.
“I went back to school to earn my doctorate, so we could meet accreditation requirements, and I pursued my doctorate right here at MTSU,” said Phillips, who serves as program coordinator for the Master of Science in Athletic Training.
Originally from Hoopeston, Illinois, Phillips said the professional master’s degree mirrors a national trend in peer health care professions that increasingly prepare students for professional practice at the graduate level.
“Reasons for the change include the increasing complexity of the current and future health care system, growing need for specific patient outcomes research, and expanding scope of knowledge and skill while striving for depth in athletic training knowledge.”
Phillips said it is hopeful the transition will positively impact the compensation and employment opportunities for graduates….”