CAATE

What CAATE does

CAATE (the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education) is the sole CHEA-recognized accrediting body for athletic training education programs in the United States. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Washington, DC, the non-profit organization accredits more than 500 professional, post-professional, and residency/fellowship programs across colleges and universities, with formal CHEA recognition granted in September 2014 and scope broadened in 2023 to formally include post-professional programs. Programs undergo comprehensive peer review with cycles tied to a 10-year continuing accreditation period, and the organization operates its own standards committee, board of commissioners, and volunteer peer reviewer corps drawn from the athletic training education community.

Its core products are programmatic accreditation services and two centralized application portals: ATCAS (Athletic Training Centralized Application Service), which allows prospective students to apply to multiple participating professional and post-professional programs with a single application, and RF-ATCAS, an analogous service for residency and fellowship programs that adds visual application and enrollment trend insights plus marketing support for member institutions. Both platforms are delivered through a partnership with Liaison International, which provides the underlying technology and account management, while CAATE contributes governance, standards, and brand. Additional offerings include the accreditation portal (accreditation.caate.net) for program administrators, the CAATE Awards Program (Pete Koehneke Award and Bob & Lynn Caruthers Service Award), and a fee-waiver assistance program for ATCAS applicants tied to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services poverty guidelines.

CAATE operates as a non-profit and generates revenue primarily through accreditation fees and transaction-based application processing fees. Pricing for physical accreditation materials is published (additional plaques at $110.75 plus $15 shipping; additional certificates at $12.31 plus $5 shipping; first set complimentary upon accreditation award). Application processing through ATCAS is fee-based with a financial-need waiver path. The organization has 1-10 employees, no external investors, and pursues a sales-led go-to-market that depends on CHEA recognition, peer reviewer networks, and presence at the annual NATA Clinical Symposia & AT Expo to reach universities, program administrators, and prospective students.

Name

CAATE

Legal name

Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education

Website

https://caate.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CAATE is the sole CHEA-recognized accreditor for athletic training education programs in the United States. It accredits 500+ professional, post-professional, and residency/fellowship programs and operates the ATCAS and RF-ATCAS centralized application portals in partnership with Liaison International.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Accreditation Services

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialized/Single-Purpose Accreditors (e.g., seminaries, arts conservatories) (EDADACAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

National/Institutional Accreditors (Career, Faith-Based, Distance, etc.) (EDADACAB), Continuing Education (CE/CPD) & Provider Accreditation Bodies (EDADACAF)

Keywords

• Athletic training accreditation
• Education program accreditation
• Centralized application services
• Higher education accreditation
• Professional certification standards

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Accreditation Services: CAATE generates revenue through accreditation certificate fees. Additional plaques are $110.75 plus $15.00 shipping. Additional certificates are $12.31 plus $5.00 shipping. The first plaque and certificate are provided complimentary to accredited programs.
2. ATCAS Application Processing: Fee-based centralized application processing services for students applying to athletic training programs. Fee waiver assistance program available for qualified applicants based on financial need.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CAATE (Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education) is a nonprofit organization that accredits athletic training education programs at the professional, post-professional, residency, and fellowship levels in the United States. It operates the ATCAS and RF-ATCAS centralized application service platforms in partnership with Liaison International to streamline student applications to accredited programs across 500+ institutions.

Product overview

CAATE operates a suite of accreditation and education management platforms. The core offerings include ATCAS (Athletic Training Centralized Application Service) and RF-ATCAS (Residency and Fellowship Athletic Training Centralized Application Service), both web-based platforms powered through a partnership with Liaison International. ATCAS enables centralized application processing for professional and post-professional athletic training degree programs, while RF-ATCAS serves residency and fellowship programs with application processing, data services, and marketing support. Additional services include an Accreditation Portal for program administrators, a Fee Waiver Assistance Program to reduce financial barriers for applicants, and the CAATE Awards Program recognizing excellence in athletic training education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ATCAS (Athletic Training Centralized Application Service) A centralized online application portal for candidates applying to professional and post-professional degree programs in athletic training. Allows students to apply to multiple participating programs with a single application. Operated in partnership with Liaison International.
• RF-ATCAS (Residency and Fellowship Athletic Training Centralized Application Service) A centralized application service for residency and fellowship athletic training programs, providing application processing, enrollment trend reports, and marketing services for member institutions. Directed by Ann M. Donnelly as Account Manager.
• Accreditation Portal A web portal for program administrators to manage accreditation processes, submit documentation, and track accreditation status for athletic training programs.
• Fee Waiver Assistance Program Income-based fee waiver program for ATCAS applicants, based on U.S. Department of Health and Human Services poverty guidelines, offered on a first-come, first-served basis to reduce financial barriers.
• Accreditation Certificate and Plaque Program Official accreditation recognition materials provided to accredited programs. The first plaque and certificate are complimentary; additional plaques cost $110.75 plus $15.00 shipping, and additional certificates cost $12.31 plus $5.00 shipping.

Quantifiable outcome

• 500+ programs accredited across professional, post-professional, and residency/fellowship categories
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Liaison InternationalcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2015Liaison International provides the ATCAS (Athletic Training Centralized Application Service) platform for CAATE. Partnership enables students to apply to multiple participating programs with a single application. Ann Donnelly serves as ATCAS Account Manager. System grew from 15 programs in 2015-16 to 193 programs in current cycle.
• Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)coreOthersCHEA granted recognition to CAATE at its September 29-30, 2014 Board of Directors meeting. Recognition is a vote of approval for CAATE's effectiveness in assuring and improving quality in higher education. CAATE's scope includes accrediting professional and post-professional programs in athletic training at baccalaureate and master's degree levels within the United States. CAATE undergoes full recognition review every 10 years.
• ATCAS (Athletic Training Centralized Application Service)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCAATE partners with Liaison International to run ATCAS, a centralized application service for candidates applying to professional and post-professional degree programs in athletic training. Over 500 programs across the United States participate.
• RF-ATCAS (Residency and Fellowship Athletic Training Centralized Application Service)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCommunity of like-minded post-professional athletic training education leaders who work together to drive the profession forward through residency and fellowship programs. Offers visual application and enrollment trend reports, marketing services, and application processing efficiency. Ann M. Donnelly serves as Director, Account Management for RF-ATCAS.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• ABET: ABET accredits applied science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology programs under CHEA recognition. Comparable in operating model (peer review, programmatic accreditation) but spans a much broader set of disciplines.
• CCNE (Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education): CCNE is an autonomous accrediting body for nursing education programs at the baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral levels, with CHEA recognition. Structurally analogous to CAATE for the nursing profession.
• CODA (Commission on Dental Accreditation): CODA accredits dental and dental-related education programs and is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. It is structurally comparable to CAATE as a programmatic accreditor for a single healthcare profession.
• CHEA (Council for Higher Education Accreditation): CHEA is the meta-accreditor that recognizes CAATE; it oversees the broader quality assurance ecosystem for higher education in the U.S. and is the source of CAATE's authoritative standing.
• ACPE (Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education): ACPE accredits professional pharmacy programs and continuing pharmacy education providers, sharing CAATE's focus on programmatic accreditation within a single healthcare profession.
• LCME (Liaison Committee on Medical Education): LCME is the U.S. accreditor for MD-granting medical schools, sharing CAATE's programmatic accreditation model and CHEA recognition status, though operating at a much larger professional scale.

Others

• Liaison International: Liaison International operates the centralized application service platforms (ATCAS, RF-ATCAS) for CAATE and provides analogous CAS products to other health professions, making it both a technology partner and an adjacent infrastructure provider.
• NATA (National Athletic Trainers' Association): NATA is the professional membership association for athletic trainers and co-locates its annual Clinical Symposia with CAATE's accreditation community; it shapes scope-of-practice policy that drives demand for CAATE-accredited programs.

Direct peers

• CAAHEP (Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs): CAAHEP is the closest programmatic accreditor peer, accrediting allied health education programs across 32 health sciences disciplines. Like CAATE, it is a CHEA-recognized programmatic accreditor relying on fees and peer review.
• ARC-PA (Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant): ARC-PA is the sole accreditor for PA education programs in the U.S., sharing CAATE's structural model of programmatic accreditation, peer review, and recognized status by CHEA for a single clinical profession.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/caateus

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about CAATE