Accreditation
Accreditation Status: Accredited
The Clovis Community College associate-degree-level 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 6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200, North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929. ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is (301) 652-AOTA 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). In addition, all states require licensure in order to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination. Note that a felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure.
Students must complete 16 weeks of Level II fieldwork within 18 months following the completion of the didactic portion of the program
| ACOTE Accreditation Timeline: | Anticipated Timing: |
|---|---|
| Candidacy Status | Received March 2020 |
| First Cohort Admitted | Cohort Start January 2021 |
| Initial Report of Self-Study | Due July 2021 |
| Pre-Accreditation Decision | December 2021 |
| The first cohort begins Fieldwork II | January 2022 |
| Initial On-site evaluation | March 7-9, 2022 |
| ACOTE Accreditation Decision | Accreditation Received on April 3, 2022 |
| First Graduating Cohort | May 2022 |
| NBCOT exam eligibility | May 2022 |
Program Notification Requirements:
Program Responsibilities
The college administration, OTA program director, and OTA faculty assume responsibility for communication with ACOTE and will:
- Inform ACOTE of the transfer of program sponsorship or change of the institution’s name within 30 days of the transfer or change.
- Inform ACOTE within 30 days of the date of notification of any adverse accreditation action taken to change the sponsoring institution’s accreditation status to probation or withdrawal of accreditation.
- Notify and receive ACOTE approval for any significant program changes prior to the admission of students into the new/changed program.
- Inform ACOTE within 30 days of the resignation of the program director or appointment of a new or interim program director.
- Pay accreditation fees within 90 days of the invoice date.
- Submit a Report of Self-Study and other required reports (e.g., Interim Report, Plan of Correction, Progress Report) within the period designated by ACOTE. All reports must be complete and contain all requested information.
- Agree to a site visit date before the end of the period for which accreditation was previously awarded.
- Demonstrate honesty and integrity in all interactions with ACOTE
- Comply with the current requirements of all ACOTE policies.
(ACOTE standard A.1.5. Notification Requirements)
