General Program Description

The PTA program is a two-year, four semester with one summer session program for a total of 69 semester hours. The program is full-time but many students choose to complete general education coursework prior to starting the program. The program begins in the summer with the first foundations course two days/week. In the first fall semester, freshman students attend class four half days/week. During the first spring semester, freshman students attend classes 5 days/week for the first 8 weeks; in the second 8 weeks, students continue to one course (a 16 week course) and start their first of three clinical courses, which is two days/week for 8 weeks. In the second fall semester, sophomore students attend class three half days/week with two full days in the clinic. During the spring semester, sophomore students are in class four days/week for the first 8 weeks; in the second 8 weeks, students complete their final clinical course which is full time for 8 weeks. While the program does not guarantee licensure, students who successfully complete the program will be eligible to sit for the state licensure exam as licensure is required in the State of Illinois.

Clinical Experiences
The amount of clinical time increases throughout the program. The first (of 3) clinical course occurs in the spring semester of the freshman year and students are in the clinic 2 days/week (16 hours) at one clinical site for 8 weeks. The second clincal course occurs during the starting with 16 hours week for 8 weeks in the spring of the freshman year; sophomores are in clinical experiences 16 hours/week in the fall semester in which students are placed in two different clinical sites, each 8 weeks, for 16 hours/week. The third, and final, clinical experience occurs in the spring semester of the sophmore year and is full-time for 8 weeks in one clinical site. There are no summer clinical experiences. Clinical experiences occur at a variety of settings in the Peoria area and/or area facilities. Students are responsible for all travel and housing costs related to clinical courses and should expect to travel up to 90 minutes each way for clinical experiences.

Faculty
There are two full-time and five adjunct faculty members. For laboratory classes, the faculty to student ratio is 1:12.

Enrollment
Illinois Central College (ICC) has an enrollment of approximately 12,000 students. The physical therapist assistant program accepts 24 students annually. Of these, six spots are allotted for direct admit from high school and six for out-of-district students.

Admission
Applications are accepted year-round and due by January 15 of each year. Applications can be found on the College website (www.icc.edu) and following the links to health careers. Students are eligible to apply to the program upon satisfactory completion of the following admission requirements: a high school diploma or Graduate Equivalency Diploma, placement scores into ENGL 110 or READ 115, ACT composite score of 20 or above (18 if tested prior to 10/28/89), 1 year of high school chemistry or CHEM 115 (C or better), 1 year of high school mathematics, minimum C average in other college courses transferring to ICC; minimum C average in 18 or more approved semester hours taken at ICC including a course in reading and study skills, completion of math and science courses if not taken in high school (for those not initially admitted to the program), 20 hours (total) of documented observation hours in two different Physical Therapy practice settings Application packets are scored according to the point-selection criteria in the following areas: • Grade point average for all college coursework (cumulative) • ACT Score • Grade earned in prerequisite courses • Grade earned in general education courses • Previous health degree or certificate/licensure in health discipline • Work and/or volunteer experience in health field

Outcomes
For years 2010-2012, three-year averages are as follows: 83.5% of admitted students graduated from the program; 98% of graduates passed the licensure exam; and 100% of graduates who were seeking employment were employed at six months after graduation.

Tuition, fees and financial aid
For the academic year 2013-14 in-district tuition is $106.50 per credit hour; tuition is $235 per credit hour for out-of-district students not authorized by their community college and for out-of-state residents. For 2013, the average cost for tuition, fees, books and supplies, graduation and miscellaneous fees for a full time in-district student for all five semesters is approximately $9117.00. For those out of district, the average cost is $17,656.00 Students are expected to have reliable transportation for travel to/from clinical education experiences.

Student life
The college offers diverse opportunities in student government, social and special interest organizations, and nationally recognized athletic teams. The PTA program courses are provided at the Thomas Building located in downtown Peoria. Most students live in the surrounding community with an average 30-minute commute. Public transportation is available in Peoria and between the downtown and East Peoria campuses. On-campus student housing is available at Woodview Commons located on the East Peoria Campus. For more information, contact the housing department at (309) 698-2088 or follow the link on the College website. While full-time employment is not recommended while in the program, many students work part-time.