General Program Description

The core curriculum has been organized to be completed in 4 semesters with the classes presented in a “lock step” format. The focus of the program is to prepare the students to act as generalist PTAs in the profession. Program classes are held during the daytime and at the present time there are no mandatory summer classes. There are presently 2 full-time faculty members who are assisted in the course instruction by several PT clinicians acting as adjunct instructors. The present full-time faculty is composed of 1 PT and 1 PTA with varied background of experiences. Admission for the incoming class is during August and graduation is held in June for the second year class. Students spend 15 hours per week in classroom instruction during the first semester; 14 hours during the third and fourth semesters, and 2 hours per week during the final semester. There are additional clinic hours during the third and fourth semesters.

Clinical Experiences
Clinical experiences are integrated into the theoretical course work and begin during the third semesters. At this time the students spend 150 hours rotations in one clinic during the third semester for 5 half-days a week or 3 full days a week for 8 weeks. During the final semester the students attend two clinics for a total of 375 hours either on rotations of 5 half-days per week or 5 full days per week for a varying number of weeks. Every effort is made to involve the students in the acute care, outpatient, and rehabilitation settings reflective of the profession. All clinical rotations are located within San Diego County.

Faculty
There are two full-time and one part-time faculty member. One faculty member is an Orthopedic Clinical Specialist, and one is a Certified Athletic Trainer and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist as well as a PT. All of the faculty members are engaged in clinical practice. The student to faculty ratio is 1:12-16.

Enrollment
The total college enrollment is ~25,000, with a diverse population. The physical therapist assistant class for 2011 will accept 25-30 students. The program capacity is for ~50 students total (combined first and second year students).

Admission
The special admissions process for Fall 2011 includes the filing of a completed application packet between January 2012 and June 2012. Upon receipt of a completed packet, qualified applicants will be placed in a random, computerized lottery. Invitations are then issued in numerical order to fill the class vacancies. The PTA program application packet, complete with specific instructions and dates, may be obtained through the college website (www.sdmesa.edu/physical-therapy/index.cfm). The program prerequisites are human anatomy & physiology, English composition, and intermediate algebra. All prerequisite courses must be completed with a C or better and with the anatomy & physiology completed within the last 5 years. The anatomy & physiology class must be at least 4 semester units with a lab. The applicant is responsible for initiating any processes necessary to determine the transferability of any courses related to the program or the degree. It is very difficult to transfer from one PTA program to another and, at Mesa; transfer considerations are made on a case-by-case basis and only if there is a space available in the desired class. A person seeking to transfer must have received passing grades in the previous PTA program and program prerequisites, and admission may only be completed following a thorough review of the completed work in accordance with the college’s guidelines. 100% of qualified applicants are admitted to the program (3-year average).

Outcomes
95-100% of the graduates passed the California State Board Examination (3 year average); and 100% of those program graduates responding to surveys are employed (3 year average).

Tuition, fees and financial aid
Enrollment fees for the 2011-12 academic year are currently $36 per unit for California residents and $190 per unit for non-residents. Campus housing is not available. There is a mandatory student health services fee of $13 per semester, and the average book costs for the four semesters of the program is approximately $2000. Students are responsible for any costs associated with obtaining CPR training, physical exams, TB tests, and any inoculations. Contact the Financial Aid Office at 619/388-2817 for any questions regarding financial assistance.

Student life
Mesa College is one of three colleges in the San Diego Community College District. The college was established in 1964 and is situated in an urban setting approximately 20 minutes from the beach and airport. Surface transportation systems are not convenient for all sections of the county and the student without a car would find it hard to reach some clinical sites with ease.