Our institute regularly shares the success of its students on the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE), as directed by its accrediting body, the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA).
Download the NCCPA EVMS PANCE Pass Rate Document
PANCE Pass Rates
The chart below compares the first-time pass rate on the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE), in the blue columns on the left for each year, to the rate of first-time takers of the exam nationally, in the rust, right-hand columns, for the last five years. Our student's pass rates are within 2 to 5 percent every year, with passing rates above the National Average in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. On the far right of the chart, a simple average of the five years is depicted, with the National Average at 93% whereas our PA Program has an average of 95% first-time pass rate average over the past 5 years.
Student Graduation Rates
| Category | Class of 2023 | Class of 2024 | Class of 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum entering class size (as approved by ARC-PA) |
80 | 80 | 80 |
| Entering class size | 84 | 91 | 89 |
| Graduates | 68 | 77 | 71 |
| * Attrition rate | 19.05% | 15.38% | 20.22% |
| **Graduation rate | 80.95% | 84.62% | 79.78% |
*Attrition rate calculation: Number of students who attritted from cohort divided by the entering class size.
**Graduation rate: Number of cohort graduates divided by the entering class size.
Comments:
The table above reflects total cohort attrition.
Attrition includes 1) student withdrawal, 2) student dismissal, and 3) student deceleration, per ARC-PA Standards. Student dismissal can occur for academic or professionalism reasons.
2023: 4 decelerated from CO2022
2024: 1 decelerated from CO2022; 10 decelerated from CO2023
2025: 8 students decelerated from CO2024; 1 student decelerated from CO2023
PANCE Summary Report Accessible
Performance Summary Report
The university regularly shares the success of its students on the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE), as directed by its accrediting body, the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA).
Download NCCPA EVMS PANCE Pass Rate Document required by the ARC-PA.
All Test Takers
| Item | May 2019 | May 2020 | May 2021 | May 2022 | May 2023 | May 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Candidates Who Took PANCE | 81 | 77 | 78 | 78 | 68 | 77 |
| Number of Exam Attempts | 92 | 79 | 82 | 82 | 70 | 82 |
| Number of Exams Passed | 80 | 77 | 78 | 78 | 68 | 77 |
| Program Exam Pass Rate | 87% | 97% | 95% | 95% | 97% | 94% |
| National Exam Pass Rate for the Class Graduate Year | 91% | 93% | 91% | 89% | 89% | 89% |
| % of Candidates Who Ultimately Passed PANCE | 99% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
First-Time Test Takers
| Item | May 2019 | May 2020 | May 2021 | May 2022 | May 2023 | May 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Candidates Who Took PANCE | 81 | 77 | 78 | 78 | 67 | 77 |
| Number of Exam Attempts | 81 | 77 | 78 | 78 | 67 | 77 |
| Number of Exams Passed | 73 | 75 | 74 | 74 | 65 | 73 |
| Program Exam Pass Rate | 90% | 97% | 95% | 95% | 97% | 95% |
| National Exam Pass Rate for the Class Graduate Year | 93% | 95% | 93% | 92% | 92% | 92% |
| % of Candidates Who Ultimately Passed PANCE | 98% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Definitions of Report Headings
- Class: Class nomenclature and the individuals included in each class are determined by PA programs when assigning students to a particular class.
- Class Graduation Year: Graduation year for the majority of the individuals in the specific class based on the confirmed graduation date provided by the PA program.
- Group: All takers include first-time takers as well as those individuals in the class who repeated the exam one or more times. First time takers are those candidates who took PANCE for the first time.
- Number of Candidates Who Took PANCE: Number of individuals from the class who have taken PANCE. Fist time takers are included in the all takers group.
- Number of Exam Attempts: Total number of exams administered, including multiple exam attempts for an individual candidate in the all takers group. (This is a count of exams administered, not a count of individual candidates.)
- Number of Exams Passed: Number of exams administered that resulted in a passing score.
- Program Exam Pass Rate: Percent of exams that were passed as compared to the number of exams that were administered to the class, including multiple exams taken by individual candidates.
- National Exam Pass Rate for the Class Graduation Year: Percent of exams that were passed at the national level as compared to the number of exams that were administered. The calculation is based on the total number of exams administered and passed, not the number of individual candidates. The reporting period is based on the calendar year corresponding with the class graduation year and will only be provided after the end of the current calendar year.
- % of Candidates in the Class Who Ultimately Passed PANCE: Percent of candidates from the specified class that have passed PANCE as of the date the report was generated, regardless of the number of attempts or the calendar year in which PANCE was passed.
