Occupational Therapy, Flex MOT

Occupational therapy is a health and rehabilitation profession. Occupational therapists provide services to individuals of all ages who have physical, developmental, emotional, and/or social deficits. Occupational therapists practice in public and private schools, rehabilitation centers, hospitals, hand therapy clinics, home health agencies, and in private practice.

Mission Statement

The mission of the University’s MOT program is to graduate a diverse population of practitioners who have the skills necessary to analyze human occupation and to implement science-driven and evidence-based interventions that promote quality of life for the clients whom they serve. The graduates will contribute to their profession and to a global society through their competence, ethical standards, and professionalism.

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the MOT program, graduates will demonstrate the ability to

• exhibit the skills of a professional occupational therapist through a commitment to lifelong learning,
• advocate for the profession of occupational therapy while collaborating with other members of a health care team,
• practice clinical reasoning skills based on foundational knowledge and professional skills in order to provide optimal interventions for client problems in varied settings,
• ensure optimal and culturally competent verbal and written communication of occupational therapy services,
• implement principles of ethical and professional behavior in the delivery of occupational therapy services,
• use effective leadership skills to advance the role of occupational therapy, and
• evaluate evidence-based information by accessing resources and interpreting information for competent interventions.

Program Prerequisites

Required prerequisite coursework (must be completed with a grade of C or better) is as follows:

• 3 credits of general college physics or kinesiology
• 3 credits of general college biology
• 6 credits of anatomy and physiology
• 1 credit of medical terminology
• 12 credits of social sciences (e.g., psychology, sociology, anthropology, abnormal psychology)
• 3 credits of human development across the lifespan
• Unless candidates have current work experience in a health sciences field, it is recommended that their prerequisites be no more than 5 years old—especially anatomy and physiology.

Note: Prerequisite substitutions can be considered with the approval of the Program Director.

Delivery of Coursework

The Flex MOT program is 93credits, and offered over 9 trimesters. More than 50% of the coursework is delivered online to the student. The online courses consist of Web-based text with extensive graphics, videos, and audio clips. There are opportunities provided for faculty-to-student and student-to-student synchronous and asynchronous interactive collaboration. Assessment of online learning outcomes includes a wide variety of evaluation tools depending on the course outcomes, such as (1) regular quizzes completed online, (2) graded bulletin board assignments, (3) case reports, (4) group projects, (5) research papers, and (6) article critiques.

In courses with a lab component, students come together for up to 16 hours of laboratory classes per weekend, 4 to 7 weekends per trimester. The lab sessions provide an avenue for teaching activities not well suited for online delivery, such as the hands-on learning that is vital to occupational therapy education, as well as oral presentations, lab practical testing, and socialization activities. Additionally, students may have to make arrangements for online exams at other times, which may include non-lab weekends. Currently, these lab activities are located on the St. Augustine, Florida, Austin, Texas, and Miami, Florida campuses.

Students in the Flex program complete two full-time fieldwork experiences that are 12 weeks in length in the second half of the program. Generally this portion of the curriculum is completed with full-time attendance by the Flex MOT student, although alternate arrangements can be made when this is not possible.

There are two cohort groups of students admitted per year, starting in September and January with a maximum of 25 students per group and a minimum of eight students. If the number of Flex cohort students drops below eight, the University reserves the right to hold the cohort group back a trimester to combine with the following group.

Note: MOT students must complete all Level II fieldwork within 24 months following completion of academic preparation.

For further information about accreditation contact Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE), 4720 Montgomery Lane, Bethesda, MD 20824-1220, phone 301-652-2682.