A.S. Occupational Therapy Assistant Degree

The Occupational Therapy Assistant Program is a Selective Admissions Program, which means not every student in the applicant pool may be accepted. Admission to the Occupational Therapy Assistant Program is competitive and enrollment in the program is limited because of available faculty, financial, and fieldwork resources.  Requirements for admission to the program include:

• Attend an information session, which outlines the education, examination, and licensure process for successful completion of the OTA program and career development and attest to an understanding of professional responsibilities and essential functions, NBCOT exam requirements, licensing, and health insurance requirements.
• Proof of high school graduation or GED certification. Official transcripts.
• Official transcripts of all previous college work.
• Submit letter of interest, resume, and two references.
• Preference given for students who demonstrate a “C” or better in high school science courses and/or college-level science courses.
• Preference given to students with other degrees.
• Admission/Retention in the OTA Program is conditional, based on successful completion of all foundational coursework with a “B-“ or better grade in all courses (exception: BIO-111/BIO112 or equivalent, “C”) or transfer equivalent courses prior to entering the OTA professional phase of the program at the designated start date. Upon meeting these requirements, students will be fully admitted to the professional phase of the OTA program. Once in the professional phase of the program, students must complete all professional phase OTA designated courses with a “B-“ or better grade and maintain a 2.7 GPA or better to graduate.   
• Interview and writing sample (arranged by invitation following receipt and review of all other application materials.
• Upon establishment of the qualified applicant pool; the top 30 candidates will be determined from the established point system for selection into the OTA Program. Early enrollment is encouraged to secure your position in the program. 

Once enrolled in the foundational phase, prior to the professional phase of the program, students must attend an orientation prior to the start of the first term student is enrolled in and thereafter must meet one time per term with the OTA Program Director to review progression, must complete required observation/service learning hours, and must attend at least one Student Occupational Therapy Association meeting per term. Students who have completed the equivalent of all the courses in the foundational phase of the program, must demonstrate equivalent observation/service learning hours prior to admission into the professional phase of the program.

Conditional acceptance into Foundational Phase floating according to number of courses needed upon admission. Full acceptance occurs upon successful completion of Foundational Phase courses prior to start of Professional Phase that occurs each August term start.  

Program Requirements

The OTA program professional phase is lock-step. All courses are carefully planned to provide for foundational learning, then build on previous learning and provide for skill development in preparation for the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) exam and to practice as a licensed practitioner. All OTA courses must be taken at Indiana Wesleyan University. All the professional phase courses must be successfully completed in the sequence prescribed by the program's requirements.  Failure to successfully complete a course will result in an administrative withdrawal from the program. Students who are unable to complete a course or who receive an unsatisfactory grade will be allowed to repeat that course with the next cohort provided the student follows through with a petition for re-enrollment process. Tuition and fees will be charged for repeating the course. OTA students will be academically dismissed upon receipt of a second unsatisfactory grade.

• Students must earn a minimum grade of “B-” or “CR” in each course in the OTA program (exception: BIO-111/BIO-112, “C” or or BIO-130/BIO-131  or equivalent, “C” or higher).
• Students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.7.
• Students who do not earn the required grade or maintain a 2.7 will be administratively withdrawn from the OTA program at the end of the term and will not be able to continue with the next term.
• Students who have been administratively withdrawn may petition to re-enroll with the next cohort the following year and may be asked to audit courses to prepare for re-entry.
• Students with two unsatisfactory grades in the professional phase of the program (including the same courses, repeated) will be academically dismissed from the program and ineligible to return.

Continuing Competency/Lifelong Learning

In order to assist the student to acquire the habit of lifelong learning; to understand the continuing competency process as required by most state licensure acts and NBCOT certification, and to provide for integration of learning and best prepare for practice; students are required to participate in a series of observation and service-learning activities in the community throughout their education experience.  This is an integral part of the course requirements. The students are required to participate in the following 18 hours (aligns with the required 18 hours of required continuing education for Indiana state OTA licensure) of observation/service-learning:

Each course has specific course related assignments. For each learning experience the student is required to fill out and have the designated person from the site sign the form.  The form is placed in the student’s portfolio.   

Minimum Computer Requirements

Students are expected to possess a computer throughout the duration of their program. Student’s computers must be able to run a supported browser and handle additional plug-ins as identified by the Learning Management System (LMS) company. Students should be able to produce, send, and receive documents that are compatible within the two most recent offerings of Microsoft Office to complete most of the assignments. IWU will offer support to students on only these two offerings of office software. Computer and internet connection may need to be fast enough in some courses to watch streaming videos, participate in live meetings, upload large files, install software, and listen to audio lectures. In addition to these minimum expectations, participation in an IWU course or program may entail additional computing and/or technology requirements.

• Completion of 75 semester hours
• Minimum grade of "B-" or higher all courses.  Any course with a grade below "B-" must be repeated (exception: BIO-111/BIO-112 or BIO-130/BIO-131, "C" or higher).
• Cumulative GPA of 2.7 or higher
• Successful completion of all Observation/Service Learning and Fieldwork assignments
• Payment of all program tuition and fees is required to receive a diploma

Indiana Wesleyan University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission (HLC), www.hlcommission.org, 312-263-0456. Other accreditations and associations of Indiana Wesleyan University are available at www.indwes.edu/about/iwu-profile/accreditation.

The associate-degree-level occupational therapy assistant program is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 510E, Bethesda, MD 20814. ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is (301) 652-AOTA and its web address is www.acoteonline.org. Graduates of the program are eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapy assistant administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). After successful completion of this exam, the individual will be a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA). In addition, all states require licensure in order to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination. Note that a felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure.

The National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy reports the certification exam outcomes for all occupational therapy assistant programs at the following link: https://www.nbcot.org/Educators-Folder/SchoolPerformance.

Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) 
c/o Accreditation Department 
American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) 
7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 510E, Bethesda, MD 20814
Phone number:  (301) 652-6611 
www.acoteonline.org

Following graduation and successful passing of the NBCOT exam, working OTA graduates of the IWU OTA program have the opportunity to advance their education through the online Bachelor of Health Science in Health Sciences program. After completing a bachelor’s degree, graduates who meet the criteria, may apply to the IWU Occupational Therapy Doctorate degree Program.