MASON CITY – The North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) Program has been accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) since 1997 and was recently granted Accreditation that extends until December 31, 2022.
Accreditation is a process used to assure the quality of the education that students receive and allows the program graduates to take the National Licensure Examination and become licensed as PTA’s.
“This is an exciting accomplishment for the College,” said Donna Orton, director of NIACC’s health division. “This shows the communities we serve that we have a high-quality Physical Therapist Assistant program. I am so proud of our faculty, staff, clinical affiliates, and our students for their ongoing dedication to making our program the best it can be. What is extremely noteworthy in NIACC’s recognition is the granting of the maximum length of time (10 years) with no required interim reports. This is really great news.”
CAPTE congratulated the program on having strong graduation rates, high employment, and high licensure exam pass rates. CAPTE referred to NIACC’s PTA Program as a “program of distinction.”
Over a three year period from 2009 to 2011, 97.22% of the NIACC program graduates who took the exam passed.
During that same period from 2009-2011, 97% of the NIACC graduates who completed the Graduate Follow-Up Survey, reported that they were employed as a PTA, employed in a training related field, or were continuing their education.
CAPTE evaluators wrote: “CAPTE would like to commend the PTA Program for their commitment to the comprehensive program review process and the exemplary effort that was exhibited throughout the overall accreditation process”.
The PTA Program would like to extend their appreciation to everyone who contributed to the successful outcome of this process including the following: College Faculty and Staff, Adjunct Faculty, PTA Students, Program Graduates, Clinical Education Faculty, Employers of Graduates, and PTA Advisory Board Members.
