As the second class approaches graduation they follow
an inaugural cohort that has posted an impressive 100 percent
graduation and first time national exam pass rate.
“We’ve seen tremendous success from the students who went through
the first cohort of the PTA program,” said Daryl Menke, Physical
Therapy Assistant program coordinator and instructor. “Taking the
national examination is a requirement to becoming licensed, and they
all passed the first attempt. This exceeded the national rate of
89.3% of students passing the national examination on the first
attempt.”
The job placement rate of PTA graduates from the first cohort has
been impressive.
“We affectionately refer to this group as the ‘Number Ones’ and they
continue to live up to that title,” Menke said. “Every one of them
that sought employment obtained a job either prior to graduating or
shortly afterwards.”
The PTA Class of 2018 will be recognized at a pinning
ceremony on Friday, May 11 at 6:30 p.m. in the Astroth Community
Education Center on Heartland’s Normal campus.
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HCC’s physical therapist assistant (PTA) program became fully
accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE)
on April 26, 2017.
In order to become a licensed PTA, students must graduate from an accredited
program to become eligible to sit for the national licensure exam.
About the PTA program
A PTA provides physical therapy treatments under the direction and supervision
of a licensed physical therapist to help people recover from injuries, illnesses
and surgeries.
The program is now accepting students into its next cohort. The application
process opens April 1 and closes August 1 of each year. More information can be
found at
https://www.heartland.edu/ catalog/pta/.
[Steve Fast
Associate Director of Public Information
Heartland Community College] |