Occupational Therapy Assistant, AS (OTAS-AS)

Program Design

The American Occupational Therapy Association, in its VISION 2030 statement, describes Occupational Therapy as “Enriching life for ALL individuals and society through meaningful engagement in everyday activities.” In preparation for their role as occupational therapy assistants, the OTA Program provides students with a strong theoretical foundation, along with the guidance needed to develop professional identity and clinical skills. The program is intentionally designed to build upon each student’s unique background, strengths, and experiences, fostering a personalized and reflective approach to learning. This individualized foundation prepares students for employment across diverse settings, whether in established or emerging areas of practice. The program defines current practice areas broadly as: Adult Rehabilitation, Behavioral Health, and Pediatric Practice. In addition, the curriculum actively addresses emerging areas of practice, including Community-Based Services, Ergonomics in the Workplace, Health and Wellness, and Maternal and Pelvic Health Care. 

Scholastic Preparation and Admission Process

The Occupational Therapy Assistant Program utilizes a selective admissions process and applicants are required to meet specific admission criteria in preparation for the academic rigor of the OTA Program. The OTA application is available online, after October 1, with a Feb 1 deadline for applications, annually.

To qualify for application to the Occupational Therapy Assistant Program, students must have a grade point average at or above 2.5, and have completed BIO 1111 , ENG 1010 , and PSY 1011  with a grade of C or better. Applicants must also have attended an OTA Information Session. Detailed information regarding selective admission events and deadlines is available on the CT State Selective Admissions Webpage.

Curriculum

The OTA program offers an accelerated, a full-time and part-time plan of study, thereby enabling the student to complete the program in 3 semesters, 4 semesters or 5 semesters respectively. 

• Accelerated track: Open to students who have completed all general education requirements prior to program application. This allows the student to complete the OTA 2034  course in the first semester (typically offered within third semester), representing two semesters of academic coursework on campus and the completion of the clinical within the third semester.
• Full-Time track: Provides three semesters of academic coursework and the completion of the clinical within the fourth semester.
• Part-Time track: Provides four semesters of academic coursework, by distributing the spring semester coursework over two spring semesters and the completion of the clinical within the fifth semester.

Courses with the OTA designator are offered primarily on-ground, however during the clinical semester students must participate in a hybrid clinical seminar and will be required to partake in synchronous and asynchronous assignments.  All courses with an OTA designator must be completed at CT State. OTA courses from another institution may not be transferred into the OTA Program. Credit for previous course completion including AP courses must be evaluated by the Admissions office to be accepted for transfer.  Credit is not provided for prior work experiences inclusive of experiential learning. All course work must be completed with a grade of C or better and a minimum GPA of 2.5 must be maintained throughout the program. The clinical semester, which is offered both fall and spring semesters, provides two 8-week, full-time, supervised learning experiences with a focus on psychosocial, physical dysfunction and pediatrics areas of practice. Students must complete the clinical semester within 18 months of the completion of academic work. Due to standards set by the Joint Commission, students are advised that the fieldwork sites to which they are assigned for fieldwork rotations, as well as state regulations, may require that they submit to a criminal background check before beginning their fieldwork experiences. CT State Community College cannot be responsible for finding an alternate clinical placement for a student who fails to pass the background check. A student who is unable to complete the required fieldwork experiences will be unable to complete the requirements for the associate degree in Occupational Therapy but may be able to apply some or all of the credits completed to an associate degree in General Studies. In such cases students are advised to meet with a guided pathway advisor to discuss alternate degree completion requirements.

Accreditation

The program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 510E, Bethesda, MD 20814. ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is (301) 652-AOTA and its Web address is www.acoteonline.org.  We are pleased to announce that our previously accredited program has undergone a consolidation with the twelve community colleges in Connecticut and now operates under Connecticut State Community College. ACOTE has transferred accreditation of the Manchester Community College OTA program to the Connecticut State Community College. The data presented herein corresponds to the program under its former name, Manchester Community College.

Learning Outcomes:

• Upon successful completion of all Occupational Therapy Assistant degree program requirements, graduates will
• Sit for the national certification exam.
• Demonstrate the clinical skills required for working as an Occupational Therapy Assistant.
• Demonstrate the interpersonal skills necessary to function as a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant.
• Comprehend the scope of occupational therapy practice.
• Apply principles in analysis and application of occupational therapy treatment in the spectrum of human occupation.
• Complete the comprehensive learning outcomes identified with the General Education Core.

Certification

Graduates of the program are 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 graduate will be a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA). Additionally, all states require licensure to practice; However, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT certification exam. A felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification exam or attain state licensure. Program results from the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) can be found at https://www.nbcot.org/Educators-Folder/SchoolPerformance.