General Program Description

Students are admitted in the Winter Semester after successful completion of five pre-requisite courses. A maximum of 24 students are admitted. Once admitted, the program requires 18 months to complete. Matriculation is in June. Students are in class 18-21 hours per week.

Clinical Experiences
The first clinical experience is 80 hours during the first Spring Session. There are two additional clinical experiences of 120 hours each in the Fall and Winter Semester of Year II. The final clinical experience is 320 hours after completion of all course work. Clinical sites are located throughout the state with several out-of-state, but the majority of sites are within 75 miles of Flint. Examples of clinical settings include acute inpatient, pediatrics, geriatrics, rehabilitation, outpatient, orthopedic, and sports medicine. A variety of clinical settings is required.

Faculty
There are two full-time and three part-time faculty members. The faculty-to-student ratio is 1:20.

Enrollment
The college has a total enrollment of about 9000 to 11,000 students. The physical therapist assistant program has a maximum enrollment of 24 students per class. The college accepts transfer students.

Admission
Application deadlines are as follows: January 15th and May 15th. Prerequisites include: a reading comprehension test score of 11; MATH-110 with minimum 2.0 or place into MATH 120; 1 semester credit of physical medicine terminology; 3 semester credits of English Composition I; 3 semester credits of General Psychology, and 4 semester credits of Anatomy and Physiology I (taken within the last 7 years– if older than seven years, must take a refresher course in Anatomy and Physiology: AHLT 150). Eight hours of verified physical therapy observation. A minimum grade of 2.0 for all required program-related courses. 44% of qualified applicants have been admitted to the program (3-year average).

Outcomes
65.5% of admitted students graduated from the program (3-year average). Of those students who sought employment, 100% were employed within 6 months.

Tuition, fees and financial aid
Tuition cost for a College in-district resident for ten months (Fall, Winter and Spring) at present is approximately $4652 1st year students and $5250 2nd year students and for a Michigan out-of-district resident is approximately $6771 1st year students and $7692 2nd year students. The Board of Trustees of the College as necessary may raise tuition. The average cost of textbooks per semester is $250-400. A majority of students have part-time jobs and/or receive financial aid. Information concerning financial aid is available at the main campus in Flint at 810/762-0144. Multiple sources are available including state, federal and private funding.

Student life
The student government is active at the college, and multiple sports and cultural activities are available on campus and in the surrounding area. The PTA students have formed a Student Physical Therapist Assistant Club.