Accreditation and Licensure

Accreditation

The Occupational Therapy Program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE). In August 2012 the program was re-accredited until 2019. Graduates are therefore eligible to sit for the national certification examination for occupational therapists administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy. After successful completion of this exam, the individual will be an Occupational Therapist, Registered (OTR). Most states require licensure in order to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the certification examination. For further information on accreditation, the address and telephone number for ACOTE are:

(301) 652-2682

Licensure

A license is required for the practice of OT in most states and other governmental units (e.g. the District of Columbia). Licensure laws vary from state to state and you should check the states in which you want to practice for their requirements. All licensing bodies in the United States require that you pass the National Board of Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT, see below) exam to be able to obtain a full license.

Individuals with certain types of criminal records (felonies) may be barred from practicing occupational therapy at the national or state level. Individuals with criminal records should contact NBCOT  (12 South Summit Avenue, Suite 100, Gaithersburg, MD 20877; (301) 990-7979) and the occupational therapy licensing board of the state where they would like to practice prior to applying for admission to any OT program. These organizations will perform early evaluations of the individual criminal record to determine appropriateness for professional practice. 

Our regional licensing bodies include:

• Pennsylvania State Board of Occupational Therapy 
• New York State Board of Occupational Therapy 
• Ohio Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Athletic Trainers Board 

National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy

NBCOT is responsible for the initial certification of occupational therapy practitioners. Graduates of accredited occupational therapy programs (including Gannon’s) are eligible to take the NBCOT Exam.

For the previous three years (2009 to 2011) the program had 78 graduates who took the exam for the first time; 53 of them passed on the first try, a 67.9% first-time pass rate. All but one of these students (52 of 55) have passed the exam with repeated tries for a 98.7% pass rate overall for the three-year period. Over that three-year period the program had 79 graduates.