Mississippi Delta Community College

The Physical Therapist Assistant program is approved by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).

Effective May 12, 2020, Mississippi Delta Community College Physical Therapist Assistant Program has been granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (3030 Potomac Ave., Suite 100 Alexandria, Virginia  22305-3085; phone: 703-706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org).  If needing to contact the program/institution directly, please call Callie Bell at 662-332-0675 or email cbell@msdelta.edu.

 

Candidate for Accreditation is an accreditation status of affiliation with the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education that indicates the program may matriculate students in technical/professional courses.  Achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status does not assure that the program will be granted Initial Accreditation.

 

CAPTE element 7.2 Definition of Candidate for Accreditation: Candidate for Accreditation is a pre-accreditation status, awarded prior to enrollment of students in the technical (PTA programs) or professional (PT programs) phase of the program, which indicates that the physical therapy education program is progressing toward accreditation. All credits and degrees earned and issued by a program holding candidacy are considered to be from an accredited program.

Graduation from a Physical Therapist Assistant education program accredited by the CAPTE is necessary for eligibility to sit for the PTA licensure examination which is required for practice in each state. CAPTE will be scheduled to make an onsite visit prior to the graduation date of the inaugural class tentatively scheduled to be Spring 2022. Following the pre-graduation site visit, but before the program graduation date, CAPTE will render its decision regarding granting the program full accreditation status. Based on information available at date of publication, the first licensure examination date for which PTA program graduates would be eligible to sit in Mississippi will be the 2nd week in July. Should the graduate choose to wait until the next quarter to take the licensure exam, the 2nd available opportunity will be the 1st week in October. Graduates may opt to obtain a temporary 90-day licensure to practice in Mississippi to use until the licensure exam is taken. Again, temporary licenses are optional, and you can seek more information about Mississippi Board of Physical Therapy licensure regulations and about the licensure examination dates and process on these two links: https://www.msbpt.ms.gov/secure/index.asp and https://www.fsbpt.org.

 

 

The Physical Therapist Assistant program at MDCC meets the education requirements for a Physical Therapies Assistant in Mississippi, and qualifies graduates to take the licensure examination given by the Mississippi State Board of Physical Therapy; more information about Mississippi Board of Physical Therapy licensure regulations and about the licensure examination dates and process on these two links: https://www.msbpt.ms.gov/secure/index.asp and https://www.fsbpt.org. The MDCC Physical Therapist Assistant program has not made a determination on whether the degree meets the state educational requirements for other US States, Territories, or the District of Columbia. Additional information on Physical Therapist Assistant licensure as it relates to other states can be found on the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy web site.