Occupational therapy assistant classes at Ross campuses in Hopkinsville, KY.

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Study to become an Occupational Therapy Assistant at our Hopkinsville Ross campus.

The Occupational Therapy Assistant Associate of Applied Science degree program can prepare you for the opportunity to help improve the quality of a person’s life and ability to perform daily activities through rehabilitative exercises and activities. Working as part of a rehabilitation team and under the supervision of an occupational therapist, you will find occupational therapy assistants in a variety of settings including hospitals, nursing homes, outpatient clinics, home health care, early intervention, school systems, and psychiatric hospitals.

The goal of occupational therapy is to help clients return to every day activities such as work, play, leisure, and home activities. In order to accomplish this, occupational therapy assistants think creatively to help clients with disabilities.

What is an Occupational Therapy Assistant?

Occupational therapy assistants work alongside and under the supervision of occupational therapists. They assist occupational therapy clients as they relearn and develop typical daily life skills like eating, getting dressed, working, driving, etc. Occupational therapy assistants can be found in a variety of settings and working with many different types of patients.

Some choose to work with the elderly in their homes, nursing homes, or clinics. Others work with children, helping them to expand their skills in accomplishing fundamental activities. Still others may decide to work with patients that have disabilities that challenge their ability to perform necessary tasks.

Occupational Therapy Assistant Fieldwork

Students enrolled in the Ross Occupational Therapy Assistant program are required to successfully complete two different fieldwork components. The first fieldwork experience is a one week full time observation based experience in a psychosocial setting. This one week fieldwork is scheduled during the same month as Intervention in Mental Health allowing students to apply academic principles to real world settings. Once students have completed all academic courses, students are required to complete two 2-month full time fieldwork experiences.

This fieldwork experience allows students to follow and learn from experienced, well respected occupational therapy assistants and occupational therapists. Not only do students build necessary clinical skills, but more importantly gain valuable patient interaction skills. In summary, the four months of fieldwork allows students to apply academic principles to real patient care. The combination of the academic coursework and the fieldwork experience serve as an appropriate starting point for students to pass the certification exam allowing them to be practicing occupational therapy assistants.

Certification for Occupational Therapy Assistant Graduates

Once a student successfully completes the Occupational Therapy Assistant program at Ross, they are eligible to take the Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) exam through the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). In order to be able to work as a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant, graduates must take and successfully pass the exam.

In addition, most 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.

NBCOT Certification Examination Performance: For information pertaining to the most recent OTA graduates on the national certification examination, please refer to https://www.nbcot.org/Educators-Folder/SchoolPerformance.

Occupational Therapy Assistant graduate information for Ross College Hopkinsville, KY, and Ross College Quad Cities, IA

The total number of graduates from Ross College – Quad Cities/Bettendorf, Iowa, campus for the Occupational Therapy Assistant program during the three-year period of 2019-2021* was 41 with an overall graduation rate of 82%.

The total number of graduates from the Ross College – Hopkinsville, Kentucky, campus for the Occupational Therapy Assistant program during the three-year period of 2019-2021* was 37 with an overall graduation rate of 74%.

Graduate Performance Information

Quad Cities, Iowa
Graduation Year Students Entering / Graduates Graduation Rate
2019 23/16 70%
2020 12/12 100%
2021 15/13 86%
Total 50/41 82%
Hopkinsville, Kentucky
Graduation Year Students Entering / Graduates Graduation Rate
2019 16/12 75%
2020 15/10 67%
2021 19/15 79%
Total 50/37 74%

Graduation Requirements, Tuition and Fee

Graduation Requirements

An Associate of Applied Science Degree will be awarded to each student who successfully:

  1. Complete all program requirements in the specified time.
  2. Have earned all credits required by his or her program within the maximum program length (1.5 times the number of credit hours in the program).
  3. Have a cumulative grade point average 2.00 or higher with no less than a final grade of a D/1.0 in any individual course.
  4. Have satisfied the residency requirement.
Tuition and Fees
Program Credit Hour Program Length (Quarters) Tuition per Credit Hour General Fee Total*
Occupational Therapy Assistant 96 8 $411.00 $0.00 $39,456.00

* There is an optional technology kit that would add $395.00 to the cost of the program if selected. Published fees for the program are subject to change

Cohort Rate

Ross College Official 3 year Cohort Default Rate (for all campuses under the main campus of Ross Medical Education Center – Brighton, MI) for 2019 is 3.8.

The Associate of Applied Science in Occupational Therapy Program at Ross College – Ross College Hopkinsville and Ross College Quad Cities locations accredited by The Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (Acote).

Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education 6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200 North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929 (301) 652-2682 acoteonline.org

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Brittney Wittmer

I had a great experience at Ross. Everyone was very accommodating and knowledgeable in my field. Every day I walked in, I was greeted with a positive, ready-to-help staff member. Ross provided me with the tools I needed to take the next step in my life and find my forever job. I cannot thank everyone at Ross enough for this fantastic experience. I feel like I walked in as a scared student and I'm leaving as a graduate with lifelong friends.

Brittney Wittmer Graduate Medical Insurance Billing and Office Administration student at Ontario, OH campus Graduation: March 12, 2019
La Rae Hemstrom

Ross Medical Education Center has been absolutely outstanding. I attended the Medical Assistant program at the Port Huron campus and then I pursued the Medical Scribe Specialist Program online. I received job offers after the completion of both programs. Ross has prepared me for a career for the rest of my life.

La Rae Hemstrom Graduate Medical Assistant student at Port Huron, MI campus Graduation: April 11, 2016
Logan Lilley

Prepared to learn and grow in an amazing career!

Logan Lilley Graduate Dental Assistant student at Sylvania, OH campus Graduation: March 19, 2019
Caitlin Brown

Hey! I'm Catie Brown, I am twenty-three years old, and I came to Ross Medical Education Center to find my career pathway. Ross is my light at the end of the tunnel. I have struggled with confidence in the past and that has kept me away from school. I am proud to be a Pharmacy Technician student here at Ross and I am working on being proud of who I am everyday.

Caitlin Brown Graduate Pharmacy Technician student at Kalamazoo, MI campus Graduation: August 26, 2019
Alicia Nelp

Ross helped me get back on track to achieving my career goals. They kept me focused and when things got tough, Ross pushed me to keep going and to not give up.

Alicia Nelp Graduate Medical Assistant student at Ann Arbor, MI campus Graduation: March 8, 2019
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Dental Assistant Program offered at these campus locations:
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Veterinary Assistant Program offered at these campus locations:
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Pharmacy Technician Program Certificate online program
Nursing Assistant Program offered at these campus locations:
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Medical Insurance Billing and Office Administration Certificate online program
Occupational Therapy Assistant Program offered at these campus locations:
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Nursing Program offered at these campus locations:
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Practical Nursing Program offered at these campus locations:
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Veterinary Technology Program offered at these campus locations:
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Business Management Program offered at these campus locations:
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Medical Assistant Associate of Applied Science Degree online program
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Human, Social, and Health Services Associate of Applied Science Degree online program
Medical Billing Administrative Specialist Associate Degree online program
Medical Office Administration Certificate Program online program
Medical Insurance Billing and Office Administration Certificate online program
Pharmacy Technician Program Certificate online program