Physical Therapist Assistant AAS

The Physical Therapist Assistant Associate of Applied Science program is now accepting applications for classes starting in August 2023. The program is offered at New River CTC’s Raleigh County Campus in Beaver.

The program consists of 5 semesters. Students accepted into the PTA program begin in the fall semester, complete their second semester in the spring, and finish their last semester in the summer. The clinical education portion of the program includes a series of three off-campus clinical education experiences.

Contact Information

Angela M. Strickland, PT, DPT
Program Director

Clint Hamilton
Administrative Associate

PTA-Program@newriver.edu
304-929-3324

PTA Program Admissions Requirements

Applicants requesting admission to the New River Community and Technical College Associate of Applied Science Degree in Physical Therapist Assistant must first meet the requirements for general admission to the respective College. The PTA Program is a select admission Program only accepting 20 students annually each fall. Admission into the College and completion of the required pre-requisites does not guarantee admission into the PTA Program. In addition to the pre-requisites and admission into the College, applicants must meet the following requirements:

• Applicants must have completed the required pre-requisite courses with a minimum GPA of 2.75.
• Applicants must have completed the Biology pre-requisite courses within the past 5 years and have a combined GPA of 3.0 of required science courses. Applicants who do not meet this requirement must either challenge the exams for all required Biology courses or retake the courses. Challenge exam score must achieve a minimum grade of a B, or higher, for that class.
• Applicants must be able to meet the essential functions of the Program as listed in the Program information packet. These essential functions are related to physical health, vision, and the ability to lift and carry up to 70 pounds, and are based on the essential functions of the professional role. Applicants must meet these essential functions without accommodations.
• Applicants must agree to travel away from campus for clinical education. Clinical affiliation sites and availability vary and are determined by each individual facility based on staffing, patient load and other factors that influence the facility’s ability to provide the student with an optimum clinical experience. Every effort is made to place students in facilities that disrupt their domestic arrangements as little as possible, but the primary purpose of the clinical affiliation is to ensure that each student gains the variety of experience required to become a competent entry-level physical therapist assistant. Expenses, including gas, tolls, food, clothing and housing (if necessary), are the responsibility of the student.

Program Admissions Procedure

1. The PTA Program receives the student’s application and it is logged and filed.
2. After the June 1st application deadline, the PTA Program evaluates all of the received applications and ensures they are complete and eligible for enrollment into the Program.
3. The Administrative Assistant then assigns each applicant a number and completes the required fields in the admission rubric.
4. The rubrics are then given to the PTA Program faculty and they are entered into a Cohort Selection Spreadsheet and the results calculated.
5. The top 20 applicants’ numbers are provided back to the Administrative Associate and the students are sent a letter of acceptance.
6. In the instance of >20 qualified applicants, there is a two-tiered tie breaker system:
   a. The first tiebreaker will be the Anatomy and Physiology I grade.
   b. Applicants with the highest grades will be selected. In the event that there are still more applicants than openings, the second tiebreaker is used. The second tiebreaker will be to utilize the Kinesiology grade. Applicants with the highest grades will be selected.
7. Notification by mail and/or New River email account of final decisions for admission into the PTA Program will be made by July 1st annually.
8. Students who have been accepted into the PTA Program have 14 days after notification to acknowledge their position.
9. Students who fail to acknowledge their position within the 14 days will be removed from the upcoming fall roster. This position may be filled with another qualified student.
10. Students, once accepted into the PTA Program, must pass a background check prior to beginning any class with a PTHA prefix. An unsatisfactory background check may result in loss of position in the PTA Program. (At the discretion of the Program Director and the Dean of Pre-Professional and Transfer Programs).

Accreditation

The Physical Therapist Assistant Associate of Applied Science program at New River Community and Technical College is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 3030 Potomac Ave., Suite 100, Alexandria, Virginia 22305-3085; telephone: 703-706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org; website: http://www.capteonline.org. If needing to contact the program/institution directly, please call 304-929-3324 or email PTA-Program@newriver.edu.

Complaints

CAPTE considers complaints about programs that are accredited, or are seeking accreditation by CAPTE, and complaints about CAPTE itself. For information on filing a formal complaint, visit http://www.capteonline.org/Complaints/. To obtain the materials necessary for submitting a complaint, contact the APTA Accreditation Department at 703-706-3245 or at accreditation@apta.org. To download New River CTC’s complaint form, click here.