Occupational Therapy Assistant (Consortium Program)
This program is available at the Start here, finish there location.As a member of the Northwest Ohio Allied Health Education Consortium Clark State is able to bring an associate degree in Occupational Therapy Assistant to Clark State students. The consortium allows Clark State students to complete their general education and basic classes through Clark State at one of its campuses or online. Students are also enrolled at Rhodes State. Technical courses are taught by Rhodes State faculty through distance learning on the Clark State campus. Students will need to travel to the Rhodes State campus in Lima for skills lab instruction and hands-on practice approximately once a week. Clinical learning experiences will be scheduled in regional healthcare facilities. A very important aspect of the Occupational Therapy Assistant consortium program is that these clinical seats are reserved for qualified Clark State students living in Clark State's service area.
Information about the consortium is available at the consortium web site. Specific information about the Occupational Therapy Assistant program is available on Rhodes State web site
The technical courses in the Occupational Therapy Assistant program start each year in summer semester (May). Seats for the program are filled with qualified applicants. Clark State applicants for this program must apply to Rhodes State online. Students should indicate they are applying to the Northwest Ohio Allied Health Education Consortium and that they are from Clark State by checking the appropriate boxes at the top of the application. Seats are limited so students are encouraged to submit documentation of meeting qualification requirements to Rhodes State in a timely manner.
Occupational Therapy Assistants (OTAs) work with individuals of any age to develop, recover or maintain the skills needed to participate in occupation (everyday activities) with meaning, satisfaction and productivity. Under the supervision of an occupational therapist, an assistant will develop and provide therapeutic activities and strategies that will help their clients gain the cognitive, physical, emotional and/or developmental skills necessary for everyday life. They may also provide adaptive equipment or techniques necessary to carry out life tasks, provide education and consultation to individuals, families and society, and address prevention. The OTA will work with the health care team which may include physicians, nurses, physical therapists, psychologists, social workers, and speech and language pathologists, in a variety of settings including: hospitals, school systems, community mental health centers, nursing homes, home health agencies and private practice.
Notice to Prospective or Current Occupational Therapy Assistant Students
Students who have been convicted of certain felonies and/or misdemeanor offenses are not eligible to participate in clinical education experiences. A criminal conviction may also affect ability to take the National Certification Examination for the Occupational Therapy Assistant or attain state licensure. Students admitted to a program containing off campus clinical/practicum experiences will be required to submit to drug screening.
Outcomes and Curriculum
Academic Requirements
Qualification Requirements
Academic qualification for the Occupational Therapy Assistant program are listed below as items 1-6. These requirements must be met in order to be considered for the program. All courses must be completed with a grade of C or better.
1. Appropriate American College Test (ACT) or college placement test scores or completion of college preparatory coursework as listed below.
- Test out of college preparatory writing coursework, OR completion of ENG 0900 with a grade of C or higher.
- Test out of college preparatory reading coursework, OR completion of ENG 0850 with a grade of C or higher.
- Test out of college developmental/elementary algebra, OR completion of MTH 0650 with a grade of C or higher.
- ACT score of 20 or higher in science OR completion of high school chemistry and high school biology OR BIO 1410 with a C or higher within past five years.
2. Overall and calculated GPA of 2.75. (Calculated GPA is defined as the average GPA of program specific coursework excluding the Success course).
3. Complete and score a minimum score of 60 on the Test of Essential Academic Skills (ATI TEAS) assessment exam.
4. Attend a mandatory program orientation session at Rhodes State and sign informed consent forms.
5. Complete 40 hours of observation in a clinical setting with a licensed Occupational Therapist or Occupational Therapy Assistant.
6. Have Clark State and other college transcripts with transferable college credits for basic and general education courses sent to Rhodes State.
After qualifying, a student must maintain a 2.75 or higher GPA in order to remain on the qualified list. If the student's GPA drops below 2.75, the student will be removed from the list. To re-qualify, the student must raise the GPA to or above 2.75. The student will then be added to the qualification list based on the re-qualification date, which would be the day GPA was raised.
If there are more applicants than available spots, students will be offered a seat based on the qualifying criteria (aggregate of calculated GPA, ATI TEAS score, the number of program specific courses completed with a C or better, and the two observation rubrics). If the qualifying criteria aggregate score of two applicants is equal then the college application date will be used to rank order those applicants,
Qualified students who were not admitted due to space limitations will be admitted in a following cohort year. This acceptance is contingent upon re-application prior to the deadline of the offered cohort year to verify continued interest in pursuing the degree. These students will be encouraged to attend an informational meeting with programmatic faculty to discuss strategies for persistence within the program or opportunities for other health care majors with seats available for immediate entry and/or other career directions offered at the College.
Students will have additional requirements that will have to be met before entrance into the Occupational Therapy Assistant program. These requirements include, but are not limited to physical, immunizations, background check, drug screen, CPR certification, and meeting with the Occupational Therapy Assistant program director.
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Barbara Shelby Academic Affairs Consultant