The Thomas Jefferson University AS in Occupational Therapy program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200, North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929. ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is 301-652-AOTA; web address is www.acoteonline.org

The Jefferson AS in Occupational Therapy program received an initial 7-year accreditation in 2011 and a 10-year re-accreditation in 2019.

Professional Certification & Licensure

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 successful completion of this exam, the individual will be a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA). In addition, all states require licensure in order to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination.

Note that a felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure.

Participation in clinical experiences and fieldwork are required components of the A.S. in Occupational Therapy curriculum. Clinical and Fieldwork sites may require a criminal background check and/or child abuse history clearance to permit participation in the clinical experience. Clinical and fieldwork sites may deny a student's participation in the clinical or fieldwork experience because of a felony or misdemeanor conviction, failure of a required drug test, or inability to produce appropriate health clearance, all of which would result in delayed graduation or, in the inability to graduate from the program.

NBCOT Certification Exam Pass Rate

Program results from the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) can be found on their website.