Radford Doctor of Physical Therapy program earns reaccreditation
The Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program at Radford University has been fully reaccredited for 10 years by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE).
CAPTE is the only agency in the United States recognized to accredit education programs for the preparation of physical therapists, and is nationally recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. CAPTE ensures that accredited programs prepare graduates to be effective contemporary practitioners of physical therapy. Radford’s reaccreditation extends through June 2029 and makes it one of 10 universities in Virginia to feature a CAPTE-accredited physical therapy program.
"The thorough accreditation process reaffirms our program’s quality. We are grateful for the endorsement. It is momentous,” said Brent Harper, D.P.T., the program's chair. “I am very proud of the faculty and staff whose hard work and high standards of clinical performance and professional preparation have earned this stamp of quality that tells our students that upon graduation they will be prepared to fulfill a DPT’s mission of service to clients.”
With CAPTE accreditation, DPT graduates can automatically sit for board certification tests and, if successful, achieve state licensure by all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The Radford University DPT Class of 2018 posted a pass rate of 100% on their certification exams. The 29-student class passed the National Physical Therapy Exam (NPTE), administered by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy, with scores 20 points above the national average.
In 2019, 30 graduates donned their white coats, emblematic of successful completion of the DPT program, to join their profession as part of Radford’s Spring Commencement ceremonies at their pinning ceremony on May 9 in Muse Hall.
“We are very proud of the students, faculty and staff of the DPT program,” said Kenneth Cox, Au.D., Dean of the Waldron College of Health and Human Services. “Successful reaccreditation of the program affirms the great work they have been doing all along.”
Radford’s DPT program is located on the eighth floor of the Carilion Roanoke Community Hospital in Roanoke. The program will be soon be joined at the site by a diverse blend of healthcare education programs offered by Radford University Carilion (RUC), the entity to be created through the July 2019 merger of Jefferson College of Health Sciences into Radford University.
RUC will boost workforce development and improve regional healthcare. With rigorous real-world learning experiences, RUC’s faculty of practicing clinicians will teach nearly 1,200 students in health science-related graduate and undergraduate programs to be healthcare professionals and care for patients, conduct research and manage organizations.