Presbyterian College’s new Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program granted Candidacy Status

The Accreditation Commission of Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) recently granted the Presbyterian College Occupational Therapy Doctorate program “Candidacy Status.”

In reviewing the program’s plans for opening and resources available for students, ACOTE authorized the OTD program at PC to admit its first group of students in the spring 2021 semester.

“The granting of candidacy status by ACOTE represents a significant milestone for Presbyterian College,” said Dr. Ben Herz, founding director of the OTD program.

“The faculty and staff in the program are excited by the news and looking forward to taking the next steps to bring the first class of 35 students on campus this January.”

Candidacy Status indicates that, in the view of ACOTE, the plans and resource allocations for the proposed program, if fully implemented, appear to demonstrate the ability to comply with the 2018 ACOTE Accreditation Standards.

Based on ACOTE’s accreditation processes, the OTD program may proceed to the next step of the initial accreditation processes, which is the pre-accreditation review, in July 2022. This will be followed by the initial on-site evaluation.

“This is an excellent next step for the OTD program at PC,” said Dr. Don Raber, PC’s provost.

“We appreciate the work that Dr. Herz and his team have done to develop a first-quality graduate experience in occupational therapy for our potential students. We look forward to continuing to take the steps needed to have our first group of students on campus very soon.”

The program has also applied with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) for the substantive change required for approval to open in January 2021. If approved, the College intends to admit its first cohort of occupational therapy students this winter.

The program is pending approval by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.