How do people occupy their time? Whether it is a child learning through play, a teen going to school, an adult being successful at school, work and at home, or a grandparent holding their grandchild, occupational therapy (OT) helps to enable people to be independent in the everyday activities that are important to them.
OT works on activities of daily living, like teaching a person who has had a stroke to dress themselves or make a meal, to developmental skills, like crawling and handwriting in children, to adapted driving and computer skills following a spinal cord injury, for example.
Do you want to get a degree in a healthcare field, but can’t return to school full-time? We are accepting applications now to admit students to the part-time program beginning summer 2024.
Program highlights
- MCC's occupational therapy assistant program prepare students to sit for the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) exam as part of the program.
- Classes are held at the MCC-Penn Valley Health Science Institute and hands-on training at the 10,000 sq. ft., accredited, healthcare simulation center virtual hospital.
- MCC's OTA program is the most established program in the area, founded in 1984, with a good reputation for quality graduates and consistently strong success rates on the national boards exam.
- Earn your Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) Occupational Therapy Assistant Degree within four semesters. The program begins every August for full-time and June for part-time students.
- Part-time and full-time cohorts.
Program admission
Additional steps are required for acceptance into this program beyond the standard MCC admissions application. This is a four-semester program that begins in August (full-time) and June (part-time) and accepts approximately 20 students per year.
Accreditation
The occupational therapy assistant 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. Phone: 301.652.6611
Careers
An occupational therapy assistant works under the direction of an occupational therapist (OT) to use meaningful activity to work in hospitals, school districts, clinics and community-based organizations to help people stay healthy.
According to the O-Net online, average annual wages for occupational therapy assistants is $61,610.
Bright outlook for Occupational Therapy Assistants in the Kansas City area
Visit Occupational Information Network (O*NET) to view salary information, employment outlook and personal characteristics needed for this career.
More program information
-
As a graduate, you'll be eligible to take the national certification exam, administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT).
You should know that you will not be able to obtain a license to practice or be allowed to participate in clinicals should you have an unacceptable background as defined by state law regarding health care providers. An unacceptable background includes a felony and/or class "A" misdemeanor conviction.
Prospective students may contact the NBCOT for an early determination review at professional.conduct@nbcot.org or for the code of conduct.
-
Students are required to have regular access to computer technology with up-to-date software, reliable broadband connection to the internet and the ability to install software that may be required for the course. Technical skills required for online courses include:
- Access sites and navigate online.
- Use a word processor (i.e. Microsoft Word) to open and save in common document file formats.
- Send and receive email, including attaching and downloading files.
- Read and post to discussion/messaging boards and blogs.
- Use a supported browser and adjust browser settings as required.
- Save a URL as a bookmark/favorite.
- Perform online searches using Google or other search engine.
- Cut, paste and copy information from the internet or files and save to the computer or other storage device
-
The implementation of the part-time OTA pathway is in response to the feedback from students who left the program prior to graduation based on employment or family needs.
Graduation year Students entering/graduating Graduation rate 2024 14/9 63% 2023 15/10 67% 2022 20/9 45% 2021 20/16 80% 2020 20/16 80% 2019 20/16 80% Total 2019-2022 94/66 70.2% NBCOT pass results
Graduation year Students taking the NBCOT/passing the NBCOT Pass rate 2024 9/9 100% 2023 10/10 100% 2022 9/9 100% 2021 15/15 100% 2020 16/16 100% 2019 15/16 92% Note - due to the Covid-19 pandemic table reflects the year of graduation, not date of certification exam
Program results from the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) can also be found online at NBCOT.
-
Tuition OTA A.A.S. 74 credit hours In-district
$121/credit hour$8,954 Out-of-district/Metro
$237/credit hour$16,538 Out-of-state/International
$320/credit hour$23,680 Program Fees* TBD Textbooks/materials $1,200+ Clinical management (Background check, drug screen, documentation review) $145 Immunizations and physical exam Cost will vary *Approximate - subject to change
Total approximate cost of the Occupational Therapy Assistant Program (In-district): A.A.S. - $10,300
Approximate cost for OTHA course per semester - $2,575
OTA students responsible for housing and transportation costs while at MCC. Students responsible for transportation to and from school and clinical sites.
Refer to this link to find out more about MCC's payment plan.
This program meets the educational requirements for national board certification and licensure for Missouri and Kansas.