The Secretary of the Army may, pursuant to an agreement entered into with an accredited institution of higher education—

(1) permit students of the institution to 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; and

(2) accept from the institution academic services to support the physician assistant training program at the Academy.

An agreement entered into with an institution of higher education under this section shall require the institution, in exchange for services provided under paragraph (1) of subsection (a), to provide academic services described in paragraph (2) of such subsection that the Secretary and authorized representatives of the institution consider appropriate.

In consultation with the authorized representatives of the institution of higher education concerned, the Secretary shall prescribe the qualifications and methods of selection for students of the institution to receive instruction at the Academy under this section. The qualifications shall be comparable to those generally required for admission to the physician assistant training program at the Academy.

Except as the Secretary determines necessary, a student who receives instruction at the Academy under this section shall be subject to the same regulations governing attendance, discipline, discharge, and dismissal as apply to other persons attending the Academy.

The Secretary shall ensure the following:

(1) That the Army Medical Department, in carrying out an agreement under this section, does not incur costs in excess of the costs that the department would incur to obtain, by means other than the agreement, academic services that are comparable to those provided by the institution pursuant to the agreement.

(2) That attendance of civilian students at the Academy under this section does not cause a decrease in the number of members of the armed forces enrolled in the physician assistant training program at the Academy.

(Added Pub. L. 105–85, div. A, title VII, § 741(a)(1), Nov. 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 1816, § 4416; amended Pub. L. 107–314, div. A, title X, § 1041(a)(19), Dec. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 2645; renumbered § 7486, Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 808(c)(2), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1839.)