NorthWest Arkansas Community College

Accreditation

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NWACC's respiratory therapy program's AAS in Respiratory Therapy (Bentonville, AR) is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC #200491 - www.coarc.com).

CoARC Programmatic Outcomes Data

Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC) accredits respiratory therapy education programs in the United States. To achieve this end, it utilizes an outcomes-based process. Programmatic outcomes are performance indicators that reflect the extent to which the educational goals of the program are achieved and by which program effectiveness is documented.

View a complete listing of national programmatic outcomes data from the CoARC.

About Programmatic Outcomes Data

Programmatic outcomes are performance indicators that reflect the extent to which the goals of the program are achieved and by which program effectiveness is documented. Programmatic outcomes data reported on the CoARC website include:

• Three-year time period being reported
• Registered respiratory therapist (RRT) credentialing success
• Achievement of the high cut score on the TMC Exam (beginning 2018)
• Retention (Attrition)
• Job placement
• Overall graduate satisfaction
• Overall employer satisfaction
• Total number of program enrollees
• Total number of program graduates
• Maximum annual enrollment

Interpretation of Programmatic Outcomes

• The values reported are a three year average.
• Retention is the total percentage of the enrolled students that complete the program. This number does not differentiate students that leave the program for non-academic reasons from the students that fail out.  
• CRT success is calculated by comparing the number of graduates earning the CRT credential to the number that graduated regardless of how many graduates took the exam. The CoARC does not account for the number of graduates attempting the exam. The CRT credential is required to practice respiratory therapy in Arkansas.  
• Registered respiratory therapist (RRT) success is calculated by comparing the number of graduates earning the RRT credential to the number that graduated regardless of how many graduates took the exam. The CoARC does not account for the number of graduates attempting the exam. On average, approximately 60% of NWACC graduates continue to complete the RRT credential. The RRT credential is not required for licensure in Arkansas.
  
  

National Exam Pass Rates

The respiratory therapist program graduates score consistently above the national averages for first-time pass rates on the NBRC credentialing exam, RRT credentialing success, and job placement.

NBRC Exams - First Time Pass Rates 201-2022
NBRC Exam	NWACC Graduates	National Average
TMC Low-cut	87%	77%
TMC High-cut	79%	67%
CSE	68%	64%
RRT Success	85%	NA
Job Placement	92%	NA