Program Design
The American Occupational Therapy Association in its VISION 2025 statement describes Occupational Therapy as “an inclusive profession that maximizes health, well-being, and quality of life for all people, populations, and communities through effective solutions that facilitate participation in everyday living.”
Scholastic Preparation and Admission Process
The Occupational Therapy Assistant Program utilizes a selective admissions process and applicants are required to meet specific admission criteria in preparation for the academic rigor of the OTA Program. The OTA application is available online, after July 1, with a Feb 1 deadline for applications, annually.
To qualify for application to the Occupational Therapy Assistant Program, students must have a grade point average at or above 2.5., and have completed BIO* 115 , ENG* 101 , and PSY* 111 with a grade of C or better. Applicants must also be eligible for college level math, and have attended an OTA Information Session.
Curriculum
The OTA program offers an accelerated, a full-time and part-time plan of study, thereby enabling the student to complete the program in 3 semesters, 4 semesters or 5 semesters respectively. Courses with the OTA designator are offered exclusively during the day and must be completed at MCC. OTA courses from another institution may not be transferred into the OTA Program. Credit for previous course completion including AP courses must be evaluated by the Admissions office to be accepted for transfer. Credit is not provided for prior work experiences inclusive of experiential learning. All course work must be completed with a grade of C or better and a minimum GPA of 2.5 must be maintained throughout the program. The clinical semester, which is offered both fall and spring semesters, provides a four-month, full-time, supervised learning experience with a focus on psychosocial, physical dysfunction and pediatrics areas of practice. Students must complete the clinical semester within 18 months of the completion of academic work. Due to standards set by the Joint Commission, students are advised that the fieldwork sites to which they are assigned for fieldwork rotations, as well as state regulations, may require that they submit to a criminal background check before beginning their fieldwork experiences. Manchester Community College cannot be responsible for finding an alternate clinical placement for a student who fails to pass the background check. A student who is unable to complete the required fieldwork experience will be unable to complete the requirements for the associate degree in Occupational Therapy Assistant but may be able to apply some or all of the credits completed to an associate degree in General Studies. Students are advised to meet with an MCC counselor to discuss degree completion requirements.
Accreditation
The program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 6116 Executive Blvd, Ste 200, North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929. ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is (301) 652-AOTA and its Web address is www.acoteonline.org
NBCOT Certification
Graduates of the program are eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the Occupational Therapy Assistant, administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). After successful completion of this exam, the graduate will be a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA). Additionally, all states require licensure to practice; However, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT certification exam. A felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification exam or attain state licensure.
| Year |
Total Number of New Graduates Testing |
Total Number of New Graduates Passing (% passing) |
Total Number of New Graduates Failing (% failing) |
| 2021 |
14 |
14 (100%) |
0 (0%) |
| 2020 |
16 |
16 (100%) |
0 (0%) |
| 2019 |
16 |
16 (94%) |
1 (6%) |
| 2018 |
16 |
16 (100%) |
0 (0%) |
| 2017 |
16 |
19 (95%) |
1 (5%) |
Program results from the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) can be found online at https://secure.nbcot.org/data/schoolstats.aspx
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