Acceptance for admission is conducted on a first-come, first-served basis. All admissions requirements must be completed prior to a student’s placement on the waiting list. Courses are offered in a sequential order, starting once each year. All eligible students may take non-OTA prefix courses as soon as they complete college admission requirements for curriculum students. Students may elect to complete the program on an extended part-time basis, with faculty consultation; however, full-time clinical internships are a critical part of the OTA training program and must be completed within 18 months of other class work to successfully complete the program. Clinical sites are spread throughout the region, and reliable transportation is essential. View the OTA Admissions Checklist and OTA Admissions Packet.

Students must achieve a minimum grade of C in all courses on the plan of study in order to progress in the OTA program. Students who fail to make the required grade of C in any curriculum course will need to meet with the program director for academic counseling and advising before continuing in the program. Students may take OTA courses a maximum of two times; if they are unable to achieve a C on the second attempt in the same course, they will not be able to complete the program.

After completing the curriculum plan of study, the student is awarded an Associate in Applied Science degree in Occupational Therapy Assistant. The program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). Questions regarding accreditation should be directed to the AOTA Accreditation Department, P.O. Box 31220, Bethesda, MD 20824-1220 or by phone at 301- 652-2682. For further information about OTA programs contact AOTA at 4720 Montgomery Lane, Bethesda, MD 20824-3425 or by calling 301-653-AOTA.

Graduates from the program are eligible to sit for the national certification examination for occupational therapy assistants. This exam is administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT, 301-990-7979). For the three -year period 2009-2011, the program had 25 graduates. Twenty-four graduates took the NBCOT certification examination and 24 passed on their first attempt. This is a pass rate of 100 percent for first-time test takers who graduated from the OTA program between 2009 and 2011. One graduate from this time period has not yet taken the NBCOT certification examination. After successful completion of this exam, graduates will be Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants (COTAs). The state of North Carolina requires licensure to practice as a COTA; licensure is based on results of the NBCOT certification examination. A felony conviction may affect a graduate's ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure. These processes are separate from the college’s program and graduation requirements.

Employment opportunities for Occupational Therapy Assistant program students and graduates can be viewed on the student/graduate employment page.

If you have any questions or want further information about the Occupational Therapy Assistant program attend an information session or contact Susan Cheng at 919-536-7233, ext. 8103 or Carol Marcus at 536-7233, ext 8120. You may also visit the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) at http://www.aota.org and North Carolina Occupational Therapy Association (NCOTA) at http://www.ncota.org.