Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions (RMU) has received provisional candidacy status from the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) to start an entry-level Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) program in fall 2023.
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Students from all over the country can train to become an occupational therapist without having to relocate. (Photo: Business Wire)
RMU’s OTD program will use a limited-residency learning model, so students will not have to relocate to Provo, Utah, to be in the program. Instead, they will do most of their coursework online and travel to campus each semester for hands-on learning, assessing clinical skills, and connecting with their peers and faculty.
The OTD program director, Bryan M. Gee, PhD, OTD, OTR/L, BCP, CLA, explained that RMU’s OTD program would be one of only a few in the nation that offers the limited-residency model. This learning model benefits students in a variety of ways.
“This limited-residency model allows for diverse students from all over the country to study to become occupational therapists. The curricular structure benefits any student who may not be able to leave their home every day to attend class.”
RMU’s Unique Model for Educating Occupational Therapists
- Core and adjunct faculty are hired from all over the country, which allows for recruiting higher-quality and more diverse faculty.
- The program will hire lab instructors from the local community during semester onsite visits, allowing local clinicians to contribute their expertise and experience to students in the program.
- 10 classes from the OTD program crossover with RMU’s post-professional OTD program, so students can learn alongside and from practicing occupational therapists.
- Students travel to the Provo campus for three seven-day onsite visits each semester for the first four semesters of the program. The rest of the 105-credit-hour program will consist of online learning and fieldwork rotations and a doctoral capstone experience.
Receiving provisional candidacy status from ACOTE allows the OTD program to start marketing and enrolling students for the fall 2023 cohort. Following the program’s start, an ACOTE self-study report and site visit will determine a full accreditation announcement by December 2025. The program’s first class of students will graduate in August 2026.
About Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions
Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions (RMU) is an exclusive graduate healthcare education institution accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Founded in 1998 and located in Provo, Utah, RMU offers high-quality and evidence-based master’s and doctoral degree programs in various healthcare specialties with a diverse student body and faculty. Learn more at rm.edu.
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