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During the mid 1990's, 2 related policy changes by the NATA Board of Directors and the NATA Board of Certification affected entry level and graduate athletic training. First, the NATA Professional Education Committee implemented the policy that as of August 1996, NATA approval of graduate athletic training education programs would be granted only to those programs that offered 'advanced' learning experiences beyond those required for CAAHEP accreditation of an entry-level athletic training education program. Correspondingly in June 1998 the NATABOC discontinued 'completion of an NATA approved graduate athletic training program' as a route to certification. As a consequence, NATA approval of graduate level programs required admission of students who had completed all the requirements to sit for the certification examination or applicants who were NATABOC certified. Although CAAHEP policies permitted accreditation of entry level programs at the graduate level, these NATA and NATABOC policy changes established a clear distinction between entry level program accreditation by CAAHEP and advanced graduate program approval by the NATA. With discontinuation of NATA approved graduate athletic training education programs as a route to certification, further standardization of entry-level education requirements for certified athletic trainers was achieved. At the same time, however, advanced learning opportunities were encouraged through continued NATA recognition of graduate programs.

The delineation between entry-level and postcertification athletic training education in 1996 established new parameters for advanced learning and research at the graduate level. As indicated in the Guidelines for Development and Implementation of NATA Approved Graduate Athletic Training Education Programs, research and scientific inquiry are considered distinguishing characteristics of graduate education. Despite this emphasis, Osternig in 1998 noted that research in athletic training had 'evolved much more slowly than practice and education'. He referred to research as the 'missing ingredient' in the pursuit of professionalism. In 1991, however research was given a significant boost with the establishment of the NATA Research and Education Foundation (NATA-REF), later referred to as the 'Foundation'. As the result of an aggressive fund-raising campaign during the 1990's the NATA-REF sponsored numerous research projects and awarded a significant number of academic scholarships. As evidenced by the number of publications in the Journal of Athletic Training research productivity among certified athletic trainers increased dramatically during the 1990's. By the end of the decade, research was no longer viewed as a missing ingredient, and athletic training education had added a new dimension.

In 1997, a second major policy change by the NATABOC also represented significant step forward toward standardization of education requirements for certified athletic trainers. In December 1996, the NATA Board of Directors adopted several recommendations submitted by the NATA Education Task Force an ad hoc task force appointed in June 1994 to address the education and professional preparation for certified athletic trainers. Among the 18 recommendations submitted to and subsequently approved by the Board o本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。