CUKC Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) Program Receives ACOTE Accreditation

The Occupational Therapy Assistant program at Cleveland University-Kansas City (CUKC) has been awarded accreditation by the American Council of Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE).

“At its meeting in December 2019, ACOTE voted to grant our OTA degree program the status of Accreditation for five years,” Dr. Cheryl Carpenter-Davis, CUKC vice president of academic affairs and dean, College of Health Sciences, said.

ACOTE personnel were at the University’s Overland Park campus in October to conduct the two-and-a-half-day, on-site evaluation. The accreditation review process confirms that OTA programs are compliant with the ACOTE Accreditation Standards for the associate-degree educational program for the occupational therapy assistant degree. The ACOTE accreditation process includes a self-study report and the onsite ACOTE accreditation visit.

“All occupational therapy and occupational therapy assistant programs are required to be accredited with the Accreditation Council of Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE),” according to OTA Program Director Rachel Eisfelder, MOT, OTR/L. “Being accredited tells the occupational therapy community that we have met the standards set forth by ACOTE and that our students are learning what is required to be successful OT practitioners.”

Students accepted into the CUKC program receive an Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) in Occupational Therapy Assistant degree. The University began accepting students while the OTA program was in candidacy status.

“We graduated our inaugural class in December 2019 with three graduates,” Eisfelder said. “We have nine more students in our OTA program now, and have the capacity to enroll up to 15 students per class start.”

“This ACOTE decision,” CUKC president Dr. Carl S. Cleveland III, said, “now adds a second programmatic accreditation, in addition to the Council on Chiropractic Education, plus the institutional accreditation through the Higher Learning Commission. Now, three accreditation bodies attest to the high quality of education at CUKC.”

About the CUKC Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) degree program.

Jennifer Matascik
Director of Communications
Cleveland University-Kansas City
Chiropractic and Health Sciences
direct: 913.234.0719
main: 913.234.0600
10850 Lowell Avenue, Overland Park, Kansas 66210
cleveland.edu