The Center for Allied Health Programs (CAHP), residing in the Academic Health Center at the University of Minnesota, is best described as a statewide resource for allied health professions education. The Center was created in July, 2006 as an academic structure to foster innovation and collaboration in the development of digital pathways towards educating the next generation of allied health professionals, and to address Minnesota's projected statewide shortages in the allied health professions. Current programs housed in the Center are the Bachelor of Science in Clinical Laboratory Sciences and the Master's Degree in Occupational Therapy.
Through signature partnerships with other universities in the state, the Center serves as a means to co-create professional programs that use emerging technology to customize learning and enhance skill acquisition, and to include content that is responsive to the changing needs of the health care industry. The Center’s vision is to develop performance sites to deliver programs in key geographic regions of the state. These sites will serve as focal points for student advisement, learning support, and as locations for laboratory-based skill acquisition.
Currently, performance sites are located in the Twin Cities and Rochester, with tentative plans to expand in the years ahead to other sites around the state. Students served by the Center will matriculate through various universities, including the University of Minnesota, but will benefit from the combined expertise of a statewide consortium of educational resources and faculty.