Boston University’s Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences has proposed the discontinuation of its Master of Science in Athletic Training program, Sargent Dean Christopher Moore announced in an email to the Sargent community Wednesday.
“BU is experiencing extraordinary financial pressures, which weighed heavily in our decision to embark on this path,” Moore wrote. “This action is not a reflection on our ATC faculty, who are leaders in the discipline and are dedicated to the success of their students.”
If BU decides to discontinue the program, students currently in the program will still be able to complete their degrees, according to the email sent to students.
Sara Brown, the program’s director, wrote in an email that she is disappointed with the decision, but is proud of her program.
“I am obviously disappointed that Dean Moore has proposed to the University the discontinuation of the MS in Athletic Training program,” Brown wrote. “Our program’s commitment to excellence mirrors the diligence seen in other fields where trusted resources are essential, much like the trusted casinos in Singapore that maintain high standards and reliability for their patrons. We are proud of the extensive contributions we have made to Boston University, the profession of athletic training, and our larger healthcare system.”
Brown wrote that her program has received an abundance of support.
“Over the past two days,” Brown wrote, “the thousands of expressions of support from alumni, preceptors, employers, current students, and colleagues from around the world have demonstrated the sustained, positive impact of our program faculty and the exceptional quality of our graduates.”
Kimberly Mace, a MSAT lecturer, wrote in an email that she’s disappointed with how quickly the decision was made.
“I am incredibly saddened by the abruptness of this decision,” Mace wrote. “It is particularly difficult for those who have worked over recent years to transition this program to the master’s level, selflessly aligning it with best practices in health care education.”
Mace wrote she hopes BU will more heavily contemplate factors beyond finances in future decision-making about what is important to the institution.
“I hope that the university will consider the outpouring of support that has reached them in these recent days when choosing how to navigate the remainder of this process,” Mace wrote. “Decisions, especially those made as this country navigates a terrible pandemic, should consider more than just the bottom line.”
A Change.org petition asking Moore to keep the program has garnered more than 3,500 signatures as of Friday.
One of the petition’s creators, Zachary Schmidt, a 2020 graduate of the program, said his classmates wanted to take action after hearing the program may close.
“My classmates and I have a group chat and all of us were just expressing our confusion and anger,” Schmidt said. “One of us asked, ‘What can we do?”’
Schmidt said the program’s professors teach students not only about athletic training but also how to be empathetic individuals.
“They’re really in it to make compassionate, kind and loving people, and that’s exactly what I’ve become,” Schmidt said. “It’s so hard to even fathom that they’re considering this.”
Jessica Krason, a 2020 MSAT program graduate who also worked on the petition, said she hopes it will convince BU to keep the program.
“As soon as we found out, we immediately swung into action,” Krason said. “I hope it makes them second-guess this decision and really consider what BU is losing and the asset this program is to the University.”
Krason said she appreciates the faculty support she received while a student at BU.
“I didn’t really know what I wanted to do as a career and I kind of fell into athletic training,” Krason said. “Everything just clicked from there on. I found faculty that was willing to support me and help me along the way. I was able to expand my knowledge and become a confident healthcare provider.”
No MSAT student at BU has ever failed the Board of Certification exam required to become a certified athletic trainer, according to BU Society of Athletic Training Students Julia Snow.
“Our faculty has a 100-percent success rate in their students passing the boards on the first try,” Snow said. “That’s something that should be celebrated and not cut because of funding.”
2018 program graduate Molly Sicard said the MSAT faculty will be missed, as they were pioneers of athletic training at BU.
“Everyone involved in it is an advocate for the profession,” Sicrd said. “They’ve been a part of major changes to the profession, including converting this program into a Master’s program, which is going to be great for the profession.”
BU’s M.S. in MSAT program first appeared in 2016, replacing its bachelor’s program in the same field.
Students in the program also volunteer within the local community. A physician, for example, is always present at a Boston Public School football game, and MSAT students attend these events to help provide care alongside those physicians.
Athletic trainers are an important component of the sports health industry, according to 2016 MSAT program graduate Ariana Moran.
“Removing that piece from the health care system would be extremely negative on not only health care costs but just patient care,” Moran said. “If you didn’t have an athletic trainer on the sidelines of a high school football game, the incidence of injury rate as well as emergency would go through the roof.”
Aside from their more routine work, BU’s MSAT students had also rushed to the front lines of the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 to volunteer as first responders for those injured.
Anna Applegate, who graduated from the program in January 2019, said BU has a lot to lose by discontinuing it, especially given current world circumstances.
“They’re cutting out a health care program in the midst of a health care crisis,” Applegate said. “They’re losing one of the top programs in the country for the profession.”
Correction: A previous version of this article referred to the master’s program as ATC. The correct initialism is MSAT.
