10 U.S.C. § 7486 — Academy of Health Sciences: admission of civilians in physician assistant training program

(a) In General: The Army Secretary may make an agreement with an accredited college that lets its students attend the classroom (didactic) part of the Army's physician assistant training program at the Academy of Health Sciences at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, in exchange for the college providing academic services to support the program. (b) Agreement for Exchange of Services: The agreement must require the college to provide academic services, in exchange for letting its students attend, that the Secretary and the college's representatives both consider appropriate. (c) Selection of Students: Working with the college, the Secretary sets the qualifications and how students are chosen. These qualifications must be similar to what's normally required to join the Academy's own physician assistant program. (d) Rules of Attendance: Civilian students follow the same attendance, discipline, discharge, and dismissal rules as everyone else at the Academy, unless the Secretary decides an exception is necessary. (e) Limitations: The Secretary must make sure that (1) the Army doesn't spend more on the agreement than it would spend getting similar academic services another way, and (2) letting civilians attend doesn't reduce the number of military members enrolled in the program.