Steps to Develop an Education Program
The rules governing the development of an education program for the preparation of physical therapists (PT) or physical therapist assistants (PTA) are delineated in the Accreditation Handbook. Institutions interested in developing a new PT or PTA program are encouraged to contact the Accreditation Department staff early in the process before the program director is hired.
In order to develop a program, institutions MUST:
- Be accredited, or a candidate for accreditation, by a regional (PT/PTA) or national (PTA) accrediting organization recognized by the United States Department of Education or by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation;
- Be degree-granting or have an existing agreement with an accredited degree-granting institution that will award the degree at the completion of the program; and
- Have obtained all required approvals to offer the proposed program, including from the institution, state, and institutional accreditor.
Institutions may not matriculate students into a PT or PTA education program until Candidacy status is granted by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education. The rules governing this process are delineated in Part 7 of the Accreditation Handbook. Institutions seeking to develop a PT or PTA program must submit a bona fide Application for Candidacy (AFC) and a non-refundable fee of $6,500, which is submitted with the AFC; assuming candidacy is granted, the program will be invoiced an additional $6,500 prior to the on-site visit in preparation for an initial accreditation decision.
Candidacy timelines are described in Part 7 of the Accreditation Handbook.
- AFCs are only accepted three times a year
- A maximum of ten Applications are reviewed by CAPTE per candidacy cycle.
Click here (.pdf) to see a chart showing the number of available slots in future candidacy cycles.
AFC materials are available from the APTA Accreditation Department upon official written notification that the institution has employed a qualified, full-time program director. Instructions for accessing and submitting the AFC on the CAPTE Accreditation Portal will also be provided.
Submission of a bona fide AFC is the first formal step in the accreditation process for a physical therapist education program. The rules regarding what is considered a bona fide Application for Candidacy are found in Part 7 of the Accreditation Handbook.
The AFC is similar to a Self-study Report; it is a detailed report that describes progress towards and the potential for achieving compliance with the Evaluative Criteria. Significant program development must be accomplished prior to the submission of the AFC in order to demonstrate sufficient progress towards compliance with the Evaluative Criteria. CAPTE recommends that institutions allow for at least six months of program development after the program director is hired. More than six months of program development may be necessary depending on a variety of issues, including the experience and expertise of the program director and faculty. PTA programs with a planned 1+1 curriculum will need to allow additional program development time since the curriculum will have to be close to fully developed prior to submission of the AFC.
Program start dates must take into consideration that initial accreditation decisions are made by CAPTE only during their regularly scheduled meetings (Fall and Spring). The related on-site visit for initial accreditation decisions always occurs in the last term of the charter class and must occur no later than ten weeks prior to the CAPTE meeting. Exceptions to this requirement will not be considered by CAPTE. Since state licensing laws require graduates to be from CAPTE accredited programs, it is not advisable to have students graduate from a program prior to the program achieving accreditation. Although CAPTE has the ability for its decisions to be retroactive to the date of graduation, not all states will accept retroactive accreditation. In addition, graduation prior to accreditation delays the ability of students to take the licensing exam and, therefore, begin employment.
Resource Documents
Accreditation Handbook
Institutions interested in developing a PT or PTA education program are advised to carefully review the Accreditation Handbook and monitor it for updates. The Accreditation Handbook provides the rules of procedure by which CAPTE operates, and it includes:
- Procedures for Achievement of and Maintenance of Candidate for Accreditation (includes decision cycle timelines) (Part 7)
- Procedures for Achievement of and Maintenance of Accreditation (Part 8)
- Substantive Change Rules (Part 9)
- Program Fees (Part 16)
- Evaluative Criteria (PTA; PT)
- CAPTE's Position Papers
To access additional information regarding the Candidacy Visit and Report including the sample visit schedule, click here (.pdf).
Initial Considerations and Feasibility of Program Development
APTA's Department of Accreditation guide for individuals considering the development of a physical therapist (PT) professional graduate education program or a physical therapist assistant (PTA) associate degree program.
Aggregate Program Data
Includes demographic information accredited PT and PTA education programs and the numbers of accredited and developing programs.
Additional Resources
A list of useful CAPTE and APTA documents is provided, along with related Web pages.
Workshops
APTA's Accreditation Department holds two types of workshops three times a year: Self-study Workshops and Developing Program Workshops. Developing programs are required to send at least two individuals (the program director and an appropriate institutional administrator) to a Developing Program Workshop PRIOR to the submission of the Application for Candidacy. In addition, Self-study Workshops are held to discuss CAPTE's expectations for specific criteria as well as to address general accreditation and self-study processes.
Consultants
A list of educational consultants, if desired, can be obtained from Jody Frost, APTA Director of Academic/Clinical Education Affairs