Established in 1996, the WCC Physical Therapist Assistant Program has prepared over 350 graduates for employment in health care. The PTA Program at Wallace Community College is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 3030 Potomac Avenue, Suite 100, Alexandria, Virginia 22305; telephone: 800-999-2782; email: accreditation@apta.org; website: CAPTE Website. To contact the program/institution directly, please call Dr. Heather Wells, 334-556-2233, or email hwells@wallace.edu. The next CAPTE review is scheduled for 2024.

The mission of the PTA Program is to help students attain education to satisfy requirements of an Associate in Applied Science Degree. In so doing, graduates are knowledgeable, competent, self-assured, adaptable, and service-oriented paraprofessionals. Graduates will be valuable members of the profession and the health care team within their scope of work, will be qualified to sit for licensure in any state in which they wish to practice, and will be prepared to uphold high standards of patient care while helping to meet healthcare needs in our community, state, and region. The program is committed to accomplishing this mission through the use of quality instructional methods, including both traditional and technology based instruction, whereby students are assisted to achieve the academic knowledge and clinical skills necessary to serve the physical therapy health needs of the public.

Graduates of the WCC Physical Therapist Assistant Program must take a nationally standardized examination in order to receive a license to practice. This examination is to assess basic entry-level competence for first time licensure or registration. The Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy develops and administers the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) for physical therapist assistant graduates in 53 jurisdictions–the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.