General Program Description
The program is a traditional program that is five semesters in length, starting in thefall semester and finishing in the spring of the second year. There are presently two full-time members on the faculty.
Clinical Experiences
Physical therapist assistant students experience the following internships or practicum: Fourth Term – 1 part time clinical round for a total of 60 hours of direct clniical contact within a 2 week intersession prior to fall semester of year 2, Fifth term – three full time intermediate and final clinical rounds, each lasting five weeks.
Faculty
There are two full-time members and one adjunct faculty member, who are all practicing clinicians. The faculty to student ratio is 1:12 and no more than 1:12 in lab experiences. Female licensed PT Lab assistant is utilized as needed for solid role modeling. The Program leader is a PT. The ACCE is a PTA and full time faculty membe. The Lab assistant also serves as an Adjunct faculty for the Pediatric portion of the curriculum as she has over 42 years of experience with pediatric rehab
Enrollment
Shawnee State University has a total enrollment of approximately 4,000 students. The PTA program has an average enrollment of 24 students.
Admission
The application deadline is April 1 of any year for admission packet filing and final selection of the next year’s class of 24 for summer entry. Final notification of acceptance is made in mid-May for the class to begin coursework in the immediate fall semester. For prerequisite information and application packet, contact the Health Sciences Representative (740/351-3209 or [email protected]), room 126, Health Sciences Building. The application packet is available on line at the program website: http://www.shawnee.edu/acad/hs/pta/index.html
Outcomes
Approximately93% of admitted students graduate from the program (3-year average); 90% of the graduates have passed the licensure exam (3-year average); and 100% of those program graduates responding to surveys are employed (3-year average). Exit surveying of graduates and constituent stakeholder groups has indicated that the program is meeting its program goals and objectives, along with university related goals.
Tuition, fees and financial aid
Fulltime (12-18 hours) tuition and fees for fall and spring terms in 2013-14 is $$3,494.32/semester for instate and nearby Tri-state counties, which specifically includes general and technology fees. Tuition and general fees for out-of-state fulltime students is $5,981.28/semester. Total program lab fees of $20.00 per lab credit hour are applied for all Allied Health courses. Financial aid is available through scholarships and federal and state grants and loans. A special application fee of $30 accompanies the initial application to the program.
Student life
Shawnee State University is located in Portsmouth, Ohio, which is a 2 hour drive from Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio, Charleston, West Virginia, and Lexington, Kentucky. Located on the Ohio River, Shawnee State is completing ongoing campus facilities expansion and revision plan that includes new buildings, renovations, landscaping, The Vern Riffe Center for The Arts, and the Clark Planetarium that features Digistar II (one of only under 50 in the world). Students have the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of student life activities such as intercollegiate sports, clubs and organizations, and residential life activities. Currently, Shawnee State fields teams in men and women’s basketball and cross-country, men’s soccer, golf and baseball; and women’s volleyball, softball, and tennis. Shawnee State University recognizes more than 50 clubs and organizations, which range from social to professional to academic. The Student Programming Board is responsible for campus-wide student programming and development of main events and activities. Greek like is currently expanding, as is residential life with the recent acquisition of additional university housing in order to meet the social, academic, and independent style living needs of the students. A motion-capture lab is slated to be built within two years, which may be utilized by several college programs.