General Program Description

Loma Linda University is a Health Sciences University owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The PTA program is in the Department of Physical Therapy, within the School of Allied Health Professions, one of nine Schools at LLU. The program admits transfer students from accredited institutions that have completed the prerequisite coursework and have met the admissions criteria. The program begins once a year in mid-June. Classes and lab sessions meet for full days, Monday-Thursday. LLU, as a faith-based, Christian university, is interested in and committed to the spiritual growth of its students with an emphasis on the teaching and healing ministry of Jesus Christ. While spiritual development is not required, experiences designed to promote spiritual growth are provided and a nurturing environment for personal development and wholeness is intentional. The PTA department strives to graduate PTAs who are intellectually prepared, socially and professionally competent, and spiritually informed. Graduates are eligible to take the national PTA licensing examination leading to state licensure for the physical therapist assistant.

Clinical Experiences
Students complete clinical experiences chosen from over 500 clinical sites representing a wide variety of inpatient and outpatient physical therapy settings with patients and clients in a broad range of diagnostic groups including pediatric, geriatric, orthopedic, neurological and cardio-pulmonary populations. The Class of 2014 will complete four clinical experiences: a two-week practicum in winter quarter, a six-week affiliation in spring quarter, and the terminal experience, which is divided into two six-week affiliations in the final summer quarter. Clinical experiences are completed by the end of September. Beginning with the class of 2015, the two-week practicum will be replaced by additional learning experiences in the on-campus, state-of-the-art Medical Simulation Center and patient-based lab experiences.

Faculty
We have three full-time, core faculty members, one three-quarter-time core faculty member, and eleven part-time contract faculty members in the PTA program. In addition, numerous lab instructors, lab assistants and guest lecturers contribute to the educational experience. Two of the full-time faculty members engage in clinical practice. The faculty-to-student ratio is 1:12 in laboratory sessions.

Enrollment
Loma Linda University is a Health Sciences University owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church and consists of nine Schools. Average total enrollment in recent years has been about 4,000 students representing most of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and more than 80 countries. We enroll 50 new students each year in the PTA program. Most students enroll in the full-time, four days/week cohort and complete the program in 15 months. Each year, a very few students enroll in the half-time, two-days/week cohort and complete the program in 27 months.

Admission
Qualified applicants transfer a minimum of 48 quarter-unit credits (32 semester units) from an accredited college or university with a minimum grade point average of 2.5 in both science and non-science prerequisite courses. Loma Linda University does not accept the transfer of grades C- or lower. All prerequisites must be completed before entry into the program: two years of high school math selected from algebra I or II and geometry (or intermediate algebra at college); introduction to physics with lab; complete sequence of human anatomy and physiology w/labs; general psychology; growth and development (preferred) or developmental psychology or abnormal psychology (accepted); complete sequence of freshman English; public speaking (preferred) or interpersonal communication (accepted); health education or two courses in physical education; one humanities course; and electives to meet the minimum number of hours required. Also required are a total of 80 hours of work/volunteer experience in a physical therapy department with at least 20 hrs in an inpatient setting and 20 hrs in an outpatient setting. Applications are accepted from August 1-April 1. There are no state residency requirements. Fifty students are accepted each year. Students in the program typically come from many different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Preference is given to Seventh-day Adventist applicants, but enrollment is not limited to such applicants. Students who are transferring from a Seventh-day Adventist college must transfer four units of credit in religious studies.

Outcomes
Pass Rate for the National Physical Therapy Exam (NPTE) for PTA’s : 96.36% of program graduates who took the National PT Exam over the last three years passed the exam. (Three-year Ultimate Pass Rate per Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy website data, November 1, 2013). Graduation Rate: 86% Graduation Rate for the last three years (2010, 2011, 2012).

Tuition, fees and financial aid
LLU tuition and fees for the 2013-2014 graduates are $28,231. Books, professional fees and equipment expenses are approximately $1,000 in addition. Dormitory rates are $695 per person, per 12-week quarter for double occupancy. Most students in the PTA program receive financial assistance that is coordinated through the University’s Student Financial Aid Office (800/422-4558).

Student life
Loma Linda University is located about 60 miles east of Los Angeles, California, and 22 miles east of Ontario International Airport. The campus is within about an hour’s drive of the Lake Arrowhead, Big Bear Lake, Palm Springs, the southern California beaches, San Bernardino mountain recreation areas, and the high and low deserts. Students participate in a wide spectrum of activities, which include athletics (tennis, swimming, basketball, soccer, etc) at the on-campus Drayson Center and student clubs, community service learning and volunteer outreach programs, both locally and overseas. Housing is available on and off campus.