Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute’s Physical Therapist Assistant Program was recently awarded a reaffirmation of accreditation for 10 years, the highest award granted by The Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE).
The reaffirmation comes as the result of a self-study report and a three-day on-site visit conducted by CAPTE reviewers. PTA Program administrators have also submitted regular compliance reports to the Commission since obtaining initial accreditation in 1992.
Accreditation is a process used to assure the quality of the education that students receive. It is a voluntary, non-governmental, peer-review process that occurs on a regular basis. CAPTE is nationally recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). CAPTE grants specialized accreditation status to qualified entry-level education programs for physical therapists and physical therapist assistants.
CCC&TI’s PTA Director Heather Bowman, who spearheaded the efforts for the program’s reaccreditation, says that she’s thankful for the team of people who helped make it successful. “Accreditation for any program is a difficult, tedious process. It required a team effort, hard work and dedication to make this a success.”
In addition to the reaccreditation, the program is also celebrating a 100 percent passage rate for the Physical Therapist Assistant Class of 2017 on the National Physical Therapy Exam for Physical Therapist Assistants developed by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT). In order to practice in the state of North Carolina, a physical therapist assistant must be licensed by the North Carolina Board of Physical Therapy Examiners (NCBPTE). To obtain this licensure students must, among other things, graduate from a program accredited by CAPTE and pass the national exam. The PTA program at CCC&TI successfully graduated 16 students in May 2017 and all 16 are now licensed to practice as physical therapist assistants in the state of North Carolina.
“I could not be more proud of the PTA graduating class of 2017,” Bowman said. “They kept their focus and met their goals. They are a very special group of people and we are proud to call them Caldwell grads.”
CCC&TI’s Physical Therapist Assistant program is a two-year program that provides instruction in highly effective lecture, lab and clinical courses. The PTA program is designed to support transfer students from other community colleges and universities to better serve the regional needs of the physical therapy community. Upon successful completion of the program, students are awarded an Associate of Applied Science in Physical Therapist Assistant.
Employment for Physical Therapist Assistants is projected to grow 31 percent over the next decade (much higher than the average for all occupations) due to the increase of Americans reaching the retirement age. According the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Statistics, the median salary for physical therapist assistants nationwide in 2016 was $27.22 per hour or $56,610. Salary averages for PTAs in North Carolina in 2016 were $28.31 per hour or $58,880 annually.
There are employment opportunities for PTAs in a variety of settings such as general hospitals, acute-care, rehabilitation facilities, outpatient clinics, home health, skilled nursing facilities, pediatric clinics and public schools.
For more information on CCC&TI’s Physical Therapist Assistant Program, contact Program Director Heather Bowman at 828-726-2605 or by email at hbowman@cccti.edu or contact Health Sciences Admissions Coordinator Amy Huffman at ahuffman@cccti.edu or by phone at 828-726-2710.
Pictured are the 2017 graduates from CCC&TI’s Physical Therapist Assistant Program.
Back row, from left to right are Clint Patterson, Wesley Deyton, Phillip Eller, Miles Cagle, Jerica Bradley, Eric Baker, Hailey Shumate, Jonathan Long, Casey Perry, Denita Roberts, Lori McCaslin and Jony Chavez-Ramirez.
Front row, from left to right are Kevin Pack, Jessica Right, Tammy Anderson and Anna Fleck.
