Lynchburg College seeking accreditation for Doctor of Physical Therapy program

Lynchburg College is on the verge of launching a Doctor of Physical Therapy program, but the school must first complete a series of accreditation requirements.

“We’re kind of at the building blocks right now,” said Kevin Brueilly, founding chairman of the program, who started at the college Wednesday.

This year, the college aims to meet requirements from both the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the regional accrediting agency, and the American Physical Therapy Association.

Then, the first class of students in the three-year program could start in fall 2010.

Linda Andrews, dean of the School of Health Sciences and Human Performance, said the college must first seek permission from SACS to offer doctorate-level degrees. Currently, the college only may issue bachelor- and master-level degrees, she said.

In the meantime, Brueilly said, he and others are working to hire faculty and staff, design curriculum and policies and decide where to locate the program.

“We’re looking at a few sites,” he said.

The building likely will be an off-campus location with about 40,000 open square feet. For the first few years, the building would be remodeled to include classrooms, offices and space for a cadaver laboratory. Later, research spaces also may be added.

The other accrediting agency, the American Physical Therapy Association, requires information about the program’s facilities, faculty and curriculum before it will issue an application for accreditation.

If the application is granted, then the college may begin the admissions process, likely in late spring of 2010, Brueilly said.

Students must already hold a bachelor degree and have completed standard prerequisite coursework and the Graduate Record Exam, he said.

The program would not gain full accreditation from the APTA until after graduating its first class of students, he said. But once approved, the accreditation would be retroactive, he said.

He said that students must “take a chance on us,” since they are not allowed to take the National Physical Therapy Examination for licensure until their college is accredited with the APTA.

“Because they take a chance on us, we, in turn, have to take a chance on some of our borderline students,” he said.

He said DPT programs typically are very competitive.

Although LC’s upcoming program already has attracted “a lot of interest,” he said, its requirements might not be as stringent in its first few years because of the pending accreditation.

Students in the program would be trained as generalists who then could choose from a range of specific fields, such as pediatrics, geriatrics, spinal cord injuries or sports and orthopedics.

Andrews said a national shortage is expected in the field for the next 10 to 15 years. The starting salary usually is in the $60,000 range, Brueilly said.

“It’s a profession that’s very self-fulfilling,” he said, “and gives you a very satisfying career to know you’re helping people in their time of need.”

- For more information on the Doctor of Physical Therapy program, visit: http://www.lynchburg.edu/dpt