The OTA program at Amarillo College is a 4 semester program (first fall 16 weeks, first spring 16 weeks, second fall 16 weeks and second spring 16 weeks). Students are admitted in summer and CLASSES START EACH AUGUST IN THE FALL SEMESTER. The program includes both classroom instruction and fieldwork (clinical) experience. The program consists of students who have met the application requirements, completed the application process, have been notified of program acceptance and have formally accepted a position in the current class.

APPLICATION INFORMATION

All persons interested in applying to AC's OTA program should first be an accepted active AC student. Apply through this link https://www.actx.edu/enroll/

After being accepted to AC, an applicant must complete the HEALTH SCIENCES APPLICATION found at this link Amarillo College - Health Sciences Application Process (actx.edu)

Notice that ALL health science programs require the HESI exam. Applicants must attend an information session to obtain the code to sign up for AC's HESI exam. HESI tutoring is FREE and located on the WEST CAMPUS.

While HESI scores are important, it is VERY IMPORTANT to achieve high grades in the 5 courses used to calculate points for admission. 

Applicants MUST submit OFFICIAL transcripts to include all the required courses to be awarded points. Applicants will be awarded points for the following required courses based on earned grade. A grade of A = 10 points, B= 7 points, C = 4 points. The courses counting for points in the OTA application process are ENGL 1301; SPCH 1315, 1318, or 1321; BIOL 2401; PSYC 2391 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY(NO substitutions accepted); Language/Philosophy/Culture OR Creative Arts from approved list (a three credit hour course). 

Health Science programs use the HESI to rank applicants and determine which applicants move to possible admission status. The HESI scores are only used from the exam taken in the past 12 months.  In the event that two students are tied for points in a program, then the date of the HESI may be used to break the tie.  Therefore, do not wait too late to take the HESI exam.  

Applicants will be awarded points based on HESI scores. The composite score will be multiplied by 0.20 and that will be added to grade points. Critical thinking score will be awarded points and added to the score. Critical thinking points will be awarded as follows: 0-699= 0 points; 700-799 = 5 points; 800-849 = 10 points; 850-899 = 15 points; greater than 900 points = 20 points.

Tell me about AC's OTA program

OTA students say the class schedule works well with their life. Also, the faculty are passionate about OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY and enjoy teaching. Students truly seem to enjoy each other - they sometimes spend time together outside of class. There are opportunities for active learning in the classroom and a broad range of Level I and Level II fieldwork experiences. Once students are accepted and enroll into the OTA program, they experience a high rate of success.

Students say they've worked harder in the OTA program than they did for another degree or in other college courses they have taken. Students are viewed by the faculty as life long active learners. As adult learners, students in the OTA program are responsible to come to class prepared to apply what has been learned through pre-class preparation, study, reading and activities. If you are an OTA student, plan to study and prepare 3 hours outside of class for every hour in class. Each semester is typically 20 clock hours in the classroom so a student will need to spend 60 hours in study, reading, writing, preparing assignments, and outside learning each week.

TUITION/COSTS: Costs for admission include APPROXIMATELY $150.00 for testing, drug screen and criminal background check. In addition, students must be current in all state required immunizations and health requirements as well as CPR. In addition, a lap top computer is required in class. The cost for completing the program is approximately $1600.00 per semester (books, materials, scrubs, supplies, clinical tracking, etc.) for 4 semesters totaling $6400.00 plus living costs and travel to/from fieldwork. Tuition and fees are subject to change including fees assoicated with distance education (one fully online course currently required in the OTA program). Due to the many residency variables related to tuition, please refer to this link to calculate your tuition cost for 3 semesters of 12 hours and 1 semester of 7 hours - Tuition and Basic Fee Link

GRADUATION: Policies related to student graduation, grievances, withdrawal, refunds of tuition and fees, probation, suspension, dismissal, health and safety of students, tuition, and fees are found at this link Student's rights and responsibilities. Locate the information you are seeking by typing in the topic of your choice in the search box on the left, such as graduation. 

To graduate, the OTA student must have completed all required courses in the official Occupational Therapy Assistant program curriculum. In some cases, course substitutions are possible with permission of the Program Director, the Dean of Health Sciences, and the Vice President of Academic Affairs. Requests for course substitutions must be made in writing to the Program Director. A request for course substitution is not a guarantee that the substitution will be approved.

In general, the guidelines for graduation are as follows:

• The student must have successfully completed all required courses in the program curriculum.
• The student must have an over-all Amarillo College "C" average (2.0 GPA) for all courses taken.
• The student must have discharged all financial obligations to Amarillo College, including on-campus traffic citations and library fines

What is the best thing about occupational therapy?

"I got into OT because I want to make a difference in people's lives. OT can change how well a person with a disease or disability lives life."  AC OTA graduate.

"When I graduate, I'll have jobs to choose from - I might work with children, adults or elders. OTAs are really in demand all across Texas and the US." AC OTA student.

"I didn't know what OT was until my child needed it. I saw what a benefit OT was in helping do everyday things that had been a struggle - getting dressed, learning in school, playing with others, making friends. Now I want to have a career where I can guide others in improving their independence and satisfaction with life." AC OTA student.

AOTA information on the career of OTA

More OT Videos on YouTube

OT Session for Autistic Child Abu HurairahOT: Getting from Bed to Chair (Total Hip Replacement)Because of Occupational TherapyOT Assistant Program at LSC-Kingwood

Occupational Therapy Practice: Mental Health
Occupational Therapy and stroke - Dina's story

What's "fieldwork?"

Fieldwork is clinical practice of the skills learned in class. A licensed OT practitioner supervises fieldwork. There are two levels of fieldwork experience in the OTA program. Level I Fieldwork consists of 3 clinical experiences connected to childhood, adulthood and elders courses. After a student completes pediatric classroom instruction, the student is placed in a pediatric site for a fieldwork experience. This is repeated for adulthood and elders courses as well. The student may need to take vacation time if working in order to attend fieldwork each for the first 3 semesters.

Level II fieldwork courses are eight (8) weeks long and a student must complete two (2), for a total of 16 weeks as required by ACOTE. These two courses consist of advanced direct patient intervention under the supervision of a licensed OT practitioner. The student will be in the clinical site for 40 hours per week for 16 full weeks the last semester of the program. The successful OTA student does not work during Level II fieldwork. Level II fieldwork must be completed within 18 months of completion of academic courses or the student will have to repeat academic courses. 

Level I and Level II Fieldwork WILL NOT ALL TAKE PLACE IN AMARILLO because of the number of students in the program and the number of  fieldwork educators available in Amarillo. Amarillo College cannot guarantee placement in Amarillo for ANY Level I or Level II experience.

When I finish all the classes and fieldwork, what do I do next?

Graduates of the program will be 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 passing this exam, you will be a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA).

In addition, Texas and most other states require licensure to practice. Texas and many other states use the certification exam results to determine who can be licensed to practice OT.

NOTE: A felony conviction may affect your ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or get a state license to practice OT. A graduate who is not allowed by NBCOT to take the certification exam because of a felony conviction will probably not be able to get Texas license as an OTA. Assistance with a felony conviction can be obtained through NBCOT at http://www.nbcot.org/ and ECPTOTE at http://www.ptot.texas.gov/page/home

What happens after I graduate?

Amarillo College OTA students continue their success by progressing though the program, passing the cert exam and getting jobs.

The direct link for NBCOT results for Amarillo College OTA graduate data is School Performance (nbcot.org)

OTA employment and salaries vary with location, supply and demand as well as type of facility. Locally, a new OTA graduate can expect to earn approximately $52,000 to $62,400 annually, a rate of $25.00 to $30.00 per hour. On-call and per diem rates are higher. Employment opportunities in Amarillo vary year to year for OTAs. Fewer full time OTA jobs have been available in Amarillo in the past couple of years for new graduates. The rate of pay is higher for OTAs in other parts of Texas. Some AC OTA graduates are working 60-90 miles from Amarillo earning $35.00 per hour. There are many jobs available within the state as well as across the US.

Amarillo College's OTA program is accredited by Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). AOTA is located at 7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 510E Bethesda, MD  20814. ACOTE offices are housed within the AOTA building. ACOTE'S phone number in care of AOTA is 301-652-6611 and the web address is www.acoteonline.org