General Program Description

The Physical Therapist Assistant program consists of 23 credits of general education and 47 credits of physical therapist assistant courses. The curriculum is two years spread over five semesters and is a two-year integrated program in which some general education courses can be taken concurrently with PTA courses. Upon acceptance to the PTA program, courses include Introduction to Physical Therapist Assistant, Kinesiology, Physical Therapist Assistant 1 (Basic Patient Skills), Physical Therapist Assistant 2 (Modalities), Physical Therapist Assistant 3 (Orthopedics), Physical Therapist Assistant 4 (Rehabilitation), Physical Therapist Assistant 5 (Neurology), Current Issues and Trends Affecting the Physical Therapist Assistant and four clinical practice courses. Courses include on- line, lecture and laboratory components. Upon successful completion of the two-year program, students are eligible to take the national licensing examination and pursue licensure requirements for the state in which they wish to practice. This program is provided by a unique consortium of three community colleges in order to serve the local communities. Program students are all eligible for services on all campuses. The Anne Arundel Community College (AACC) library is open to all students, as are the computer labs. Students have to travel to AACC for the laboratory sections of the program, but attend clinicals in their home areas wherever possible. Didactic components of the program are partially taught through the Maryland Research and Education Network in a video conferencing format in order to reduce travel time and distance for the students traveling to AACC.

Clinical Experiences
There are three part-time clinical practice courses and one full-time clinical course. Each clinical experience progresses in difficulty for the degree of expectation of clinical competence and is integrated with the didactic sections of the program. Students are expected to travel to clinical sites in the general area of location of the college attended for experience in hospital, private practice, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, pediatrics, and rehabilitation settings.

Faculty
There are three core faculty (two full time and one part time) and ten part-time faculty members. The average faculty-to-student ratio is 1:20, and the average faculty-to-student ratio during the laboratory courses is 1:13.

Enrollment
The Physical Therapist Assistant program typically admits 25 students each August; 13 from Anne Arundel Community College, six each from Chesapeake College and College of Southern Maryland.

Admission
An admission packet is available on- line at www.aacc.edu/cache/pta or upon request from the individual consortium college. Each college has the same admission requirements and selection criteria, and students should contact the individual college for specific information. Mr. Thomas can answer any questions and direct students to the correct person. Attendance at a PTA Program Information Session is recommended for all prospective students and an application to the program is due March 15 prior to fall start of the program. Minimum requirements for entry to the program include: an overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.0, 1 semester of high school chemistry or non-credit or credit college chemistry, eligibility for college English, and eligibility for college algebra. For further requirements please call Mr. Thomas at 410-777-7039. Approximately 22% of qualified applicants are admitted to the program (3-year average, 2012-2014).

Outcomes
84.6% of admitted students graduate from the program (3-year average, cohorts admitted 2009-2011); 96.9% of the graduates passed the national licensure exam (3-year average, 2011-2013); and 100% of those program students who sought employment and responded to surveys were employed within six months of graduation (3 year average, 2011-2013).

Tuition, fees and financial aid
Tuition based on Anne Arundel Community College fees for the Fall 2014 semester is $102 per credit for county residents. Tuition and applicable fees vary between the three community colleges slightly. Preference for admission is given to residents of the nine county areas served by the consortium. Financial assistance is available through the student’s home college and must be applied for directly to the college financial aid office. Detailed information regarding program costs is available on the program website: www.aacc.edu/cache/pta