Occupational Therapy Assistant
Career Studies and Workforce Development Division
Degree Type: Associate of Applied Science Degree
Contact: Chris Adams, cadams@trcc.edu
Purpose: The Occupational Therapy Assistant program is a one-plus-one degree program that prepares students to practice as Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants (COTA) after meeting certification and state licensure standards. Three Rivers College is one of five colleges in the Missouri Health Professions Consortium (MHPC) currently offering this program. Three Rivers offers and enrolls students in the general education coursework; sophomore level (professional level) coursework typically originates from a classroom at any of the five campuses and is conveyed to students via interactive television and internet-based technology. Through the combination of general education and professional level coursework, classroom and laboratory practice, and clinical fieldwork experiences, students will learn the profession of occupational therapy assistant. The professional year does not run on a traditional Three Rivers academic cycle. Classes begin in the fall semester and will run until the next fall semester of the following year. Completion of professional coursework takes one full calendar year.
First Year
Fall Semester
Spring Semester
Total Credit Hours: 35
Second Year
Fall Semester
| OTA 200 | Found of Occup Therapy | 3 |
| OTA 205 | Med Contions in Occupational Therapy | 3 |
| OTA 210 | Activity Analysis & Therapeut Media OT | 3 |
| OTA 215 | Mental Health & Geriatric Practice | 4 |
| OTA 250 | Functional Kinesiology | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 16 |
Spring Semester
| OTA 220 | Pediatric & Adolescents in OTA | 4 |
| OTA 255 | Physical Disabilities Practice | 4 |
| OTA 260 | Community Pract & Emergerging Pract OT | 3 |
| OTA 265 | Ethics, Management, and Leadership | 3 |
| OTA 270 | Pre-Clinical and Professionalism for Ota | 2 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 16 |
Summer Semester
| OTA 290 | Level II Fieldwork A | 8 |
| OTA 295 | Level II Fieldwork B | 8 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 16 |
Total Credit Hours: 48
Total Credit Hours: 83
Admission Process
Enrollment in the MHPC Occupational Therapy Assistant program is selective and an informational packet with application materials is available online (trcc.edu/apply/) or at the Three Rivers campus. Students must complete all general education coursework PRIOR to entry into the professional level program. However, students can complete coursework in the semester prior to the start of the program; under these circumstances, program admission would be contingent upon successful completion of general education prerequisite coursework and maintenance of the required 2.5 GPA. Transcript evidence of satisfactory completion of general education/prerequisite coursework must be received with the application packet. Three Rivers may not be able to offer admission to all qualified applicants. Only students meeting all admission criteria and submitting completed application packets within the established time frame will be considered. The Selection Committee meetings are conducted the summer before the start of the professional year. Admission decisions of the Selection Committee are final. Applicants will receive a letter regarding admissions status following committee review.
Application Deadline: May 1
Accreditation
The MHPC Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 7501 Wisconsin Ave, Suite 510E, Bethesda, MD 20814. ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is 301- 652-2682, TDD 800-377-8555 and its Web address is www.acoteonline.org. Graduates of the program will be 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).