Written by Lauren Bucher
Harding is introducing a new Physical Therapy graduate program, which could start as early as fall 2011, depending on when a program director is hired.
Dr. Burks created a feasibility study in the fall of 2008 for physical therapy because of the strong health care programs that Harding offers. Nursing, Kinesiology, and nine pre-professional programs exist at the undergraduate level. Pharmacy, Physician Assistant, and Communications Science and Disorders programs already exist at the graduate level. This program would be a natural addition.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that there will be a 30 percent increase in demand for licensed physical therapists from 2008 to 2018. Because of the increase in demand, the field is growing much faster than average.
“The Physical Therapy program should be able to support itself very quickly, because there is a really high demand,” said Dean of Graduate Programs Dr. Cheri Yecke. “And after it gets started, it will probably quickly get to the point where it has to turn people away.”
There are only three other Physical Therapy graduate programs within a 250-mile radius from Harding: University of Central Arkansas, Arkansas State University, and the University of Louisiana. Harding will be the first Church of Christ sponsored university to offer a Physical Therapy Graduate school. There is not enough supply among Church of Christ schools, or in the region around Harding, to match the increasing demand for licensure programs. The new program will meet this demand.
“We think it’s important that when you think about introducing a new program you have to look at the long-term viability of the program,” Yecke said. “You can’t pick something because it sounds good, or it’s trendy, or another university is doing it. We want to make sure that what we are doing is something that will be able to support itself in the long-term.”
Harding undergrad students have expressed interest in Physical Therapy and prospective students have asked recruiters about physical therapy.
The program will operate outside of the hiring freeze. It is expected to be in high demand, which will offset the cost of hiring new staff.
When the program will begin depends on when a director is hired. Before the program can become accredited or staff can be hired, a director needs to be found. The director must meet four qualifications— be a member of the church, have clinical experience, hold a doctorate degree (the doctorate of Physical Therapy), and have worked in higher education. Harding is searching for a director through the alumni network and in the Christian Chronicle.
After the director is hired, he or she must write a business plan, showing the classes that will be offered. Then they have to submit it to the Commission on Accreditation of Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) and CAPTE has to approve it. When Harding hires a director determines when the first class enters.
The earliest the program could start accepting physical therapy students is fall 2011. The program would admit 30 students the first year. The second year it would accept 30 more students and 30 more the third year. After three years, the program will be operating fully and have a total of 90 students. The program will be a three-year program, or eight semesters, including two summers, with graduates as early as spring 2014.
“It would all depend on how many years of accreditation Harding received for the program,” Natalie Kridlo, a sophomore Athletic Training Major, said. “I think it would be great for Harding to get the program and it would be awesome to stay within a Christian atmosphere but, it probably would not be my first choice when deciding on a grad school.”
Kridlo said she is planning on becoming a physical therapist.
The physical therapy program would be temporarily housed in classrooms of other buildings on campus. If Harding decides to increase its focus on health sciences, a physical building could possibly be added.
The demand for physical therapists is increasing for several reasons— the increasingly elderly population, advancements in medical technology, changes in insurance policies that allow more people access because their co-pays will go down and replacements for physical therapists retiring.
Harding has stored the contact information of people interested in becoming professors. The students who have shown interest have also been put in a database so they can be contacted when the program begins.
