Is a Doctor of Physical Therapy Degree Worth It? If you’re dreaming about helping patients restore their mobility and quality of life, and you’re exploring what it would take to become a physical therapist, you may be wondering, “Is a degree in physical therapy worth it?” The answer to this question depends, of course, on your personal career goals. Some people choose to become physical therapist assistants because only a two-year associate degree is required. It’s true that pursuing a doctorate takes time and effort; however, there are countless advantages to earning a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree. To that end, let’s look at some of the factors that make a Doctor in Physical Therapy (DPT) degree the best first step on an exceptional career Read more
Melanie Davis, DHED
Vice President, Accreditation and Assessment
Melanie Davis, DHED joined the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences in March 2021. Dr. Davis worked in K–12 education for 13 years, first in the classroom and then as a curriculum and assessment administrator. In 2009, she joined A.T. Still University of Health Sciences (ATSU), where she was director of the Office of Assessment and Accreditation.
Dr. Davis earned a Doctor of Health Education from ATSU. Her dissertation was on increasing the inter-rater reliability of standardized patients.
She also has a Master of Arts from Southeast Missouri State University in teaching English to speakers of other languages. Dr. Davis is an evaluator for the American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation and was recently trained as team chair.
She has given several presentations on assessment and accreditation topics at conferences and recently co-authored a book chapter titled “Assessment and technology use in a graduate health university,” published in Transforming Digital Learning and Assessment by co-editors Peggy Maki and Peter Shea.
The University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences (USAHS) Vice President, Accreditation and Assessment has overall responsibility for institutional and programmatic accreditation. This person works with departments throughout USAHS to improve processes, gain efficiencies and ensure consistent data and performance information to meet accreditor requirements at institutional and program levels and to support academic quality.
Based at our Austin, TX campus, Dr. Davis is responsible for oversight of accreditation and assessment at all five USAHS campuses.
