The deadline to apply for this year’s Physical Therapist Assistant Program at UA Cossatot is May 30, 2019.  As UA Cossatot’s inaugural class of physical therapist assistant students plan to graduate this August, the college is currently accepting applications for the next cohort of the PTA program which will matriculate in August. Students who are interested in applying for the program can submit applications beginning December 1 of every year, with the deadline to apply being May 30.  The PTA program takes one year to complete and is limited to sixteen students.

Before one can apply, students must take the required PTA pre-requisites.  PTA pre-requisites are listed on the UA Cossatot PTA website and consist of twenty-nine credit hours. All pre-requisite course work must be completed with a minimum GPA of 2.75 and a minimum GPA of 3.0 for A&P I and A&P II.

The admissions procedure for the PTA Program is based on a point system.  Those with a high percentage on the point system will be selected for an interview.  Following the interview process, the top 16 students will be accepted into the PTA Program and begin PTA coursework in the fall.

The PTA Program faculty at UA Cossatot provides multiple avenues for learning including interactive lecture, hands-on skills practice, and rotation through clinical affiliations.  UA Cossatot PTA student and President of the Student Physical Therapist Assistant Club, Jeanne Spain said, “I feel our instructors have been great at adapting to each of our individual learning styles.  I tend to be a very hands-on learner, while some of my peers are more auditory and visual learners.  It has been very beneficial to have them take note and adapt their teaching to our specific learning styles.”  Advisory Council member and Clinical Instructor for UA Cossatot, Rosalyn Henry, PT, DPT said, “I have had the privilege of being able to see how well UA Cossatot’s PTA students are prepared for clinical affiliations.  The creation of UA Cossatot’s PTA program is backed by dedicated directors, advisors, and students, who work tirelessly to ensure the program is top notch and the students who go out into the community are well educated and prepared for the field of physical therapy.”

The Physical Therapist Assistant program is located on UA Cossatot’s Ashdown campus.  To apply for the program before May 30, please select the online application link at www.cccua.edu/programs-of-study/medical-education. For questions regarding the application process, please e-mail PTA Program Director Jennifer Sanderson at jsanderson@cccua.edu or Director of Clinical Education, Heather Orr at hnorr@cccua.edu. 

To learn more about course requirements and how one can get started as a PTA student at UA Cossatot, please visit www.cccua.edu/programs-of-study/medical-education to schedule an advising appointment with one of our academic advisors.

Candidate for Accreditation Status

Effective May 2, 2018, UA Cossatot has been granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA, 22314; phone: 703-706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org). If needing to contact the program/institution directly, please call 870-584-1497 or email jsanderson@cccua.edu.

Candidate for Accreditation is a pre-accreditation status of affiliation with the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education that indicates the program is progressing toward accreditation and may matriculate students in technical/professional courses. Candidate for Accreditation is not an accreditation status nor does it assure eventual accreditation.  

IMPLICATIONS OF AUGUST GRADUATION

The developing physical therapist assistant program at UA Cossatot is planning for a charter class graduation in August 2019. Initial accreditation decisions are acted upon at the next regularly scheduled Fall Meeting of the Commission following the on-site visit, which must occur during the penultimate term when the charter class is enrolled. CAPTE will not make exceptions to its Rules to accommodate graduation dates that precede regularly scheduled CAPTE meeting dates, e.g., graduation in the summer.  A summer graduation does not allow the initial accreditation decision to occur prior to the graduation date.  The Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT) sets the dates for licensing exams. The first sitting for which students with an August graduation date would be in January. Therefore, the timing of the planned graduation date increases the likelihood of a significant financial disadvantage for students due to an approximate six-month delay in possible employment as a physical therapist assistant.

Jennifer Sanderson, PTA Program Director
Kim Dickerson, Medical Education Division Chair

Contingency Plan

Should the Physical Therapist Assistant Program at UAC fail to receive accreditation, our institution will work diligently with students on a student-by-student basis. The Program Director will meet with each student and discuss options that best fit the student’s situation. We will first inform all students that UA Cossatot (UAC) will file an appeal for reconsideration of the CAPTE adverse decision. Next, we will work closely with the program at South Arkansas Community College in El Dorado (106 miles) to filter students to their program, if possible. The Program Director will also discuss the options of transferring to another institution, changing degree plans to OTA within the same institution, or graduating with a Certificate in Health Professions or Associate in General Studies.