DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM FOR ADMISSION OF CIVILIANS AS PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT STUDENTS AT ACADEMY OF HEALTH SCIENCES, FORT SAM HOUSTON, TEXAS.

SEC. 732. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM FOR ADMISSION OF CIVILIANS AS PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT STUDENTS AT ACADEMY OF HEALTH SCIENCES, FORT SAM HOUSTON, TEXAS. (a) Civilian Attendance.— The Secretary of the Army may enter into a reciprocal agreement with an accredited institution of higher education under which students of the institution may attend the didactic portion of the physician assistant training program conducted by the Army Medical Department at the Academy of Health Sciences at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, in exchange for the provision of such academic services by the institution as the Secretary and the institution consider to be appropriate to support the physician assistant training program. The Secretary shall ensure that the Army Medical Department does not incur any additional costs as a result of the agreement than the Department would incur to obtain academic services for the physician assistant training program in the absence of the agreement. (b) Selection of Students.— (1) Subject to paragraph (2), not more than 20 civilian students per year may receive instruction at the Academy pursuant to the agreement under subsection (a). In consultation with the institution of higher education that is a party to the agreement, the Secretary shall establish qualifications and methods of selection for civilian students to receive instruction at the Academy. The qualifications established shall be comparable to those generally required for admission to the physician assistant training program at the Academy. (2) The Secretary shall ensure that members of the Armed Forces are not denied enrollment in the physician assistant training program in order to permit the attendance of civilian students. The maximum annual enrollment for the program may not be increased solely for the purpose of permitting civilian students to attend the program. 108 STAT. 2811 (c) Rules of Attendance.— Except as the Secretary determines necessary, a civilian student who receives instruction at the Academy pursuant to the agreement under subsection (a) shall be subject to the same regulations governing attendance, discipline, discharge, and dismissal as apply to military students attending the Academy. (d) Term and Termination of Agreement.— The term of the agreement entered into under subsection (a) may not extend beyond September 30, 1997. Either party to the agreement may terminate the agreement at any time before that date. (e) Report.— For each year in which the agreement under subsection (a) is in effect, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report specifying the number of civilian students who received instruction at the Academy under the agreement during the period covered by the report and accessing the benefits to the United States of the agreement. (f) Academy Defined.— For purposes of this section, the term “Academy” means the Academy of Health Sciences of the Army Medical Department at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.