School of Physical Therapy

The mission of the South College Doctor of Physical Therapy program is to provide an innovative, career-focused education that develops Doctors of Physical Therapy who are highly skilled, mindful, and empathetic care providers, who are passionate lifelong learners, who are servant leaders in their local community, and who are highly engaged in their professional and broader health care communities. Graduates will be equipped to deliver exemplary care in a multidisciplinary, team-oriented, and value-based healthcare environment.

Philosophy

The School of Physical Therapy is committed to the development of future Doctors of Physical Therapy, ready to meet the demands of clinical practice in the 21st century with exemplary entry-level skills, marked professionalism, and compassion.

The DPT program is designed for the delivery of a contemporary and evidence-based curriculum using faculty and contributors that are dedicated educators, clinicians, researchers, and leaders in the physical therapy profession. Faculty and contributors facilitate student learning and professional growth with student-centered active learning experiences, modeled clinical and scholarly excellence and steadfast professionalism. Using a blended learning model, our curriculum combines the best aspects of online learning activities and interactions, hands-on laboratory intensive sessions, and collaborative clinical education experiences into an innovative and dynamic learning experience. In so doing, we will transform physical therapy education, improve scalability and access to DPT education, increase flexibility for traditional and nontraditional learners, increase the level of active learning in courses, and seek to achieve quality student experiences and outcomes. Our graduates will be prepared for skillful, mindful and compassionate clinical practice, lifelong learning and professional development, and selfless service to their community and profession.

Program Goals/Outcomes

The South College School of Physical Therapy will deliver an accredited DPT program that embraces the core values of the profession. The program has the following goals:

Program Goals

Goal 1: Demonstrate a commitment to service and leadership in the institution, the community, and the profession.
Goal 2: Enroll a student body that results in graduates who support the demand for physical therapists and rehabilitation services at the local, regional, and national levels.
Goal 3: Efficiently develop competent career-focused physical therapists through innovative academic and clinical learning experiences.

Faculty Goals

Goal 1: Role model servant leadership and professional responsibility to the institution, the community, and professional organizations.
Goal 2: Integrate innovative teaching strategies and technologies that support the program’s mission, enhance student learning, and optimize outcomes.
Goal 3: The collective faculty demonstrate commitment to excellence in teaching, scholarship and clinical practice.

Student/Graduate Goals

Goal 1: Demonstrate a commitment to evidence-based practice and professional growth through lifelong learning, critical inquiry, and mindful practice.
Goal 2: Function in a professional, caring, ethical, and culturally competent manner, with a demonstrated advocacy towards the patient, community, and profession.

Program Overview

The Doctor of Physical Therapy program is designed for students desiring to complete advanced studies in physical therapy. Students must possess strong analytical reasoning, cognitive, and affective skills demonstrating competency, flexibility, responsibility, and critical thinking skills to facilitate problem solving. The program requires successful completion of 135 total quarter credit hours. The structured curriculum requires courses in foundational sciences, clinical sciences, and physical therapy patient and practice management. The accelerated curriculum is delivered in eight consecutive quarters over a period of 24 months.

The DPT curriculum is delivered via a hybrid, or blended, learning model that incorporates best practices for online, onsite, and clinical education principles into an innovative, accelerated, and challenging curriculum. Current evidence regarding the use of technology and distance learning philosophies serves as a foundation for the curriculum. Our emphasis on adult learning principles and an active learning environment are reflective of contemporary educational theory and practice. Faculty for the School of Physical Therapy use traditional and systems-based approaches to organize a sequential, lock-step curriculum for all enrolled students. Didactic education delivered in a blended learning format is conducted during quarters 1-4, the first 3 weeks of quarter 5, and quarter 6. Each academic quarter consists of 9-10 weeks of distance education and 2-3 weeks of onsite lab immersion instruction. From a traditional perspective, most of the biological and physical sciences are taught during the early academic quarters and provide the foundation for clinical science and physical therapy science courses that are taught concurrently or subsequently. From a system-based perspective, clinical and physical therapy sciences are addressed as regional and age-specific courses for the musculoskeletal, neuromuscular, cardiovascular, pulmonary, integumentary, endocrine, and genitourinary systems.

Clinical education is conducted during an 8-week clinical experience in quarter 5, a 12-week intermediate clinical experience in quarter 7, and an 11-week terminal clinical experience in quarter 8. These final two experiences are often combined into a single, 23-week, clinical internship. Each student is exposed to a variety of clinical settings during these experiences, which may include outpatient, acute care, subacute care, neuro rehabilitation, skilled nursing, home care, industrial, and pediatric facilities. While the emphasis remains on development of strong entry-level skills as a generalist PT, this variety of exposures provides each student with an appreciation for the breadth of specialties within the PT profession, the multitude of clinical presentations and disorders within each specialty, and role of PT in the management of these patients/clients. Additionally, this variety provides the students with clinical experiences that best prepare the student for national licensure.

Program Accreditation Status

The Doctor of Physical Therapy program at South College is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314; telephone: 703-706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org; website: http://www.capteonline.org. If needing to contact the program/institution directly, please call 865-251-1753 or email tnoteboom@south.edu.

Physical Therapist Licensure

Licensure as a Physical Therapist is regulated by individual states and typically overseen by a State Board of Physical Therapy. All 50 states require graduation from a CAPTE accredited program as well as passing the NPTE in order to obtain a license and practice as a Physical Therapist. The South College DPT program is a CAPTE accredited program which aims to prepare graduates to sit for the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE). Some states have unique licensure requirements. For example, a jurisprudence exam is required in some states to test the graduate’s knowledge of state laws, rules, and practice acts that govern physical therapy practice. Some require satisfactory background checks. These unique requirements are not associated with preparation in the South College program. The following link provides contact information for individual state licensing authorities: https://www.fsbpt.org/FreeResources/LicensingAuthoritiesContactInformation.aspx

Graduates of the DPT Program are encouraged to take state and nationally recognized licensing examinations as soon after graduation as possible. Further information regarding the NPTE, jurisprudence exams, and state licensure can be obtained at http://www.fsbpt.com/.

Program Admission and Prerequisites

Students applying to the DPT Program should have the requisite skills and demonstrated potential to navigate the academic rigors of an accelerated and hybrid model of DPT education. Students should be mature adult learners with the ability, initiative, and flexibility to learn and work independently and collectively in online, onsite, and clinical environments. Additionally, students should have a reasonable level of technology literacy prior to the start of classes. These demonstrable attributes prepare students for the demands of a challenging blended-learning curriculum and a dynamic profession.

  1. ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS: In order to be considered for admission to the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at South College, the following criteria must be met:
  2. ADMISSION PREREQUISITES:*

*See Accepted Courses for Program Prerequisites included on the DPT website.

**Applicants must complete Anatomy and Physiology courses within the last 5 years prior to application or demonstrate ongoing work experiences that have kept this knowledge current (e.g. physical therapist assistant, athletic trainer, etc.). All remaining letter-graded prerequisite coursework is acceptable no matter when the coursework was completed. However, we strongly recommend that applicants take refresher courses as needed to fully prepare themselves for our accelerated DPT program.

State Authorization

South College seeks to make available all online programs/courses to residents of Tennessee and other states, and to allow completion of required clinical or practical experiences in those states. The program works through the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) process and with states directly to ensure that when authorization or licensure is necessary, required approvals are secured (such as California where South College is approved as an Out-Of-State Registered Institution). Tennessee is a member of SARA and South College is an approved SARA institution. As such, we adhere to a set of national standards for interstate offering of post-secondary distance education courses and programs. SARA also covers all interstate placements in clinical or practical situations among SARA member states, no matter the nature of the main program. However, not all states are SARA members. While we do monitor the laws in each state, authorization of distance education is a dynamic environment and prospective students should check this site often for updates. It is the student’s responsibility to understand current circumstances or special requirements in their state of residence. Please see the South College Doctor of Physical Therapy webpage and click on Admission for more information.

As the DPT program is an academic program that leads to a professional license required in many states, it is highly recommended that applicants first seek guidance from the appropriate licensing agency in their home state BEFORE beginning the academic program located outside of the state. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the appropriate licensing board in his/her home state to confirm whether a South College program will meet the requirements for licensure in that state. The following link provides contact information for state licensing authorities: https://www.fsbpt.org/FreeResources/LicensingAuthoritiesContactInformation.aspx.

Advanced Placement and Transfer Credit

All courses required for the Doctor of Physical Therapy degree program, both didactic and clinical, must be completed at South College. The Doctor of Physical Therapy program at South College does not grant advanced placement, credit for experiential learning, or transfer credits from another program or institution.

Background Checks and Drug Testing

Criminal background checks and drug testing are becoming mandatory at medical institutions as a requirement of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). Individuals working in health care facilities often must consent to and be cleared to work through criminal background investigations and/or drug screenings. This is also a common policy/requirement in many physical therapy corporate entities and individual clinics.

In order to ensure patient safety and security, South College requires a criminal background check prior to any applicant being admitted. An additional background check and/or drug testing may be required prior to beginning clinical experiences in year two of the program. Applicants should be aware that a prior criminal background could restrict the ability to obtain professional state licensure. Acceptance into a South College program does not imply or guarantee that a student will be able to obtain such licensure.

Health Insurance

All Doctor of Physical Therapy students are required to carry health insurance (including hospitalization) throughout the entire program. It is the responsibility of the student to purchase health insurance and provide proof of insurance. Health concerns should be addressed with your primary care provider. South College does not have student health facilities, but we do have an agreement with Cherokee Health Systems to provide services to our students living in Knoxville or attending onsite lab intensives. Students are financially responsible for any services rendered by Cherokee. Once matriculated into the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program, students must show compliance with the health policy including personal health insurance coverage within one month of the start of classes. Failure to do so may result in being liable for dismissal from the program. Students must re-certify their health status (including proof of health insurance) prior to beginning the clinical year (year 2) of the program. Students may not engage in clinical activities until compliance has been met.

Immunizations

Prior to entering the South College Doctor of Physical Therapy Program, students must submit health provider proof of a health examination and updated information of immunization health certificate indicating TB testing results and HBV immunization series.

Specific related requirements include:

  1. Provide proof of personal health insurance throughout the entire program;
  2. Provide proof of a satisfactory and current physical examination;
  3. Provide proof of TB Tine Test (positive results will require the student to receive a chest x-ray and further evaluation);
  4. Provide proof of Hepatitis B vaccine and positive Hep B Ab;
  5. Provide proof of MMR vaccine or immunity;
  6. Provide Varicella history or vaccination;
  7. Influenza vaccine (required annually to be given during influenza season: October through May);
  8. Provide proof of Tetanus, Diphtheria, & Pertussis (Tdap) vaccine within the last 10 years; and,
  9. Provide proof of Polio vaccine series (3 doses OR date of last booster OR immunization as an adult).

Prior to entering the clinical phase (year 2) of the program, students must again update their immunization and health certificate and provide proof of the following:

  1. Provide proof of current BLS certification obtained through the American Heart Association;
  2. Provide proof of updated annual TB PPD or tine test;
  3. Provide proof of blood-borne pathogen orientation course; and
  4. Provide proof of current personal health insurance, throughout the clinical year.

Computer Requirement

Students are required to have a personal laptop computer and a mobile device (i.e., tablet, iPad). Minimum requirements and specifications are listed in the DPT Student Handbook.

Estimated Program Costs (Effective June 2020)

Subtotal Estimated Costs

a These are estimated costs for the entire program. Tuition, fees, and costs are subject to change. Tuition for in-state and out-of-state residents is the same.
b Estimated costs for textbooks and tablet clinical applications are based on current course requirements.
c Physical therapy equipment costs include a student kit consisting of common clinical exam instruments, gait belt, and exercise mat. A portable treatment table is highly recommended for personal practice.
d Rates vary depending on state of residence (generally range from $0 - $10 per year).
e Estimated lodging costs apply to students commuting to Knoxville for onsite Lab Intensives. This estimate includes Orientation, 6 Lab Intensives, and Graduation Week activities for a total of 86 required training days. An additional 4 days are included should the student be required to remain after a Lab Intensive session for remedial training and retesting.
f Students are required to make their own lodging arrangements for Lab Intensive sessions. Knoxville provides many lodging options for students. Block room pricing is available at one are hotel starting at $89/night single or double occupancy. Several extended stay hotels are available in the area for as low as $55/night single or double occupancy. Additionally, many students rent vacation homes with 6-7 other classmates for as low as $20/night per student. The majority of students pay less than $50/night for lodging.

Payment of Tuition and Fees

All charges are due and payable on or before the registration date for each quarter. Circumstances that prevent a student from adhering to these dates should be discussed with the Business Office. Students attending South College under a grant or loan should confer with the Financial Aid Department concerning the payment of fees. Students attending the college under the G.I. Bill should discuss payment of school fees with the Director of Financial Aid. Tuition and fees are subject to change at the end of any quarter. Failure to make proper payments, unless otherwise cleared with the Business Office, will result in dismissal from the college.

Grades will not be issued, degrees granted, or transcripts furnished until all financial obligations have been satisfied and all college property returned.

Academic Calendar

The Doctor of Pharmacy academic calendar may vary from the institutional calendar. Information will be provided to Physical Therapy students both in-person and via the DPT Student Resource page in Canvas.

School of Physical Therapy Grading System

Academic Course Grading: Course directors/faculty determine the grades for each course with specific requirements defined within the course syllabus. Evaluation methods assess student achievement of specific educational learning objectives, and in a broader sense, their communication skills and professional behaviors. The means by which a final grade is computed may include, but are not limited to, written examinations, practical examinations, skill checks, oral presentations, written assignments, laboratory exercises, online class participation, clinical participation, and clinical performance. All didactic courses are graded with a letter grade of A, B, C, F, or I.

Where objective testing is used, scores and grades are correlated as follows:

Grade Quality Points Range
A 4.00 90.00 - 100
B 3.00 80.00 - 89.99
C 2.00 70.00 - 79.99
F 0.00 69.99 and below
I *** Incomplete

Clinical Education Course Grading: Clinical faculty use the Physical Therapist Clinical Performance Instrument (PT CPI) to formally assess student performance during clinical education experiences. At a minimum, clinical faculty will provide students with a mid-term and final assessment of their performance. All clinical education courses (DPT 6530 , DPT 6720 , and DPT 6820 ) are graded as PASS or FAIL. Students must “Pass” all clinical education courses to progress within the program. Student grades will be determined by the Director of Clinical Education based on 1) mid-term and final PT CPI assessments, 2) verbal or written input from the clinical faculty, 3) a review of student assignments, and 4) collaboration with core faculty as needed.

Minimum Requirements for Progression

Successful progression in the DPT program requires each student to earn a minimum acceptable grade for all academic and clinical education courses, maintain minimum standards for quarter and cumulative grade point averages (GPA), and exhibit appropriate professional behaviors throughout the program. Specific requirements for progression are detailed below:

  1. Students must achieve a final grade of “C” or higher (i.e., ≥ 70%) for all academic courses and “Pass” for all clinical courses in order to progress to the next academic quarter.
  2. Students must maintain a minimum Cumulative GPA of 3.00 throughout the program. A student with a cumulative GPA below 3.0 at the end of any quarter may be placed on academic probation. The probationary period will extend until the student has completed one quarter of full-time academic coursework as designed in his/her course of study. If the student is successful in raising his/her cumulative GPA to 3.0 or higher, he/she will be removed from probation. If the student fails to raise his/her cumulative GPA to 3.0 or higher, he/she may be dismissed from the program. If a student’s cumulative GPA falls below 3.0 a second time, he/she will be dismissed from the program.
  3. Students must display appropriate professional behaviors during all academic and clinical education courses. These are requisite behaviors for any student or licensed physical therapist and necessary for successful clinical practice. Any incident of violation of the South College Student Conduct Standards and Regulations, the South College Honor Code, or the School of Physical Therapy Code of Professional Conduct will be reviewed by program faculty members for recommendations for subsequent actions up to and including dismissal from the program.
  4. Core faculty are responsible for ensuring that each student is prepared to enter clinical education experiences. Ensuring that students have the requisite knowledge, professional behaviors, and safety awareness that protects patients and upholds public trust in our educational program. The criteria used to determine student preparedness are as follows:
    1. Successfully pass all courses, in sequence, prior to each clinical education experience.
    2. Demonstrate competence in examination and intervention skills on all practical examinations and skills checks with a minimum grade of 70% and no safety deficits. Specific skills are identified in Practical Examination/Skills Check rubrics for all course syllabi that require these assessments.
    3. Demonstrate professional behaviors in all program activities to include, but not limited to, student self- assessments, active participation and interactions with faculty in didactic courses, and appropriate patient-therapist interactions during practical examinations and competency skills checks.
    4. Receive satisfactory feedback from the faculty advisor, DCE, and faculty as a whole that the student is properly prepared for participation in clinical education experiences.

    Student performance is evaluated at the completion of each academic term to determine if academic and clinical standards are met. Students that achieve or surpass these minimum standards will be allowed to progress in the program and ultimately graduate. The Program Director and faculty reserve the right to examine extenuating circumstances in each case of non-acceptable academic and/or clinical performance.

    Academic and Professional Probation

    Any student with a cumulative grade point average of less than 3.00 at the end of any quarter may be placed on academic probation. A student may also be placed on professional probation for violation of the South College Student Conduct Standards and Regulations, the South College Honor Code, or the School of Physical Therapy Code of Professional Conduct to a degree that does not warrant academic dismissal.

    The student is notified of this action in writing by the Dean and informed that there is no recourse available to the student with respect to being placed on probation. The written communication to the student requires the student to meet with his/her faculty advisor to develop a remediation plan that supports the student in the area(s) of the academic difficulty and defines requirements to remove probation status. Included within this remediation plan may be regular meetings with the advisor.

    To remove probation status, the student must achieve a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00 by the end of the term and/or demonstrate corrective action and a consistent pattern of professional behaviors consistent with the South College Student Conduct Standards and Regulations, the South College Honor Code, and the School of Physical Therapy Code of Professional Conduct. The student is not allowed to be on probation for more than one quarter in relation to cumulative grade point average requirements and one quarter relating to professionalism. A second issue relating to either area will result in dismissal from the program. The Dean will notify the student and Registrar of this academic dismissal action in writing.

    Academic Dismissal

    The Dean may order the dismissal of a student where the student fails to achieve the expectations for progression. Academic dismissal may occur upon the occurrence of any one of the following grounds.

    1. A student receives a grade less than “C” in any academic course or a “Fail” in any clinical course.
    2. A student withdraws from any course during the term, therefore, not successfully completing all required courses for a given quarter, unless an alternate degree plan has been approved.
    3. A student has a cumulative GPA of less than 3.0 at the end of any quarter and fails to raise the cumulative GPA to 3.0 or higher at the end of the next quarter.
    4. A student’s cumulative GPA falls below 3.0 for a second time at the end of a quarter.
    5. Violation of the South College Student Conduct Standards and Regulations, the South College Honor Code, or the School of Physical Therapy Code of Professional Conduct.
    6. Inability to be removed from probation status in the time frames established in the DPT Student Handbook.
    7. Any determination by the Dean, School of Physical Therapy or DPT Faculty that the student is unfit for clinical practice as a physical therapist or is otherwise not meeting the requirements of the School of Physical Therapy and South College.

    The student is notified of this academic dismissal in writing by the Dean and is informed of the appeal procedure. Also included in the notice is information regarding loss of all privileges and services from the School of Physical Therapy and South College.

    Appeal of academic dismissal is heard and decided by the Academic Standing and Progression Committee, and a recommendation submitted to the Dean of the School of Physical Therapy. The Dean may accept or reject the recommendation of the Committee, and the Dean provides the decision in writing to the student. If unsuccessful in the appeal of the dismissal, the student may submit an appeal to the Vice Chancellor of Institutional Advancement and Effectiveness within five business days of the notification. The Vice Chancellor reserves the right to refer any appeal to the South College Academic and Conduct Committee. The decision of the Vice Chancellor or the South College Appeals Committee is final and not subject to further appeal. Students with a final dismissal from the School of Physical Therapy may reapply for admission through the regular admissions process.

    In certain cases, dismissed students may be offered a guaranteed seat in the next cohort. This alternative to reapplying to the program through the regular admissions process is offered on a case-by-case basis and subject to the decision of the Dean after evaluation of the student’s performance to date. Should a student be granted a guaranteed seat, a reinstatement plan will be developed prior to the student restarting the program. This plan will outline what courses the student must audit (at no charge) versus what courses must be repeated at the full tuition cost. The reinstatement plan typically requires all courses in which the student earned a “C” or lower to be repeated. Students can elect to repeat all courses should they so desire. NOTE - audited courses do not replace previous course grades nor do they count toward credit hours enrolled for a given quarter. Therefore, the student should consult with the Financial Aid Department to determine how the reinstatement plan affects the aid package. Courses repeated for credit will replace the previous grade and impact GPA. Reinstated students must achieve the minimally accepted GPA (3.0) at the conclusion of their first quarter in which they return. Progression on academic probationary status is not permitted for reinstated students.

    Graduation Requirements

    In order for a student to graduate from the Doctor of Physical Therapy program, the student must be in a good academic and professional standing, have had satisfactory progress in all quarters of the academic program, and satisfactorily complete the following:

    1. Successfully complete the required 135 quarter credit hours of academic and clinical education course work.
    2. Maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.00 or above.
    3. Achieve a letter grade of “C” (70%) or better in all academic courses.
    4. Successfully complete and “Pass” all clinical education courses.
    5. Achieve entry-level competence as a physical therapist, as demonstrated on the Physical Therapist Clinical Performance Instrument (PT CPI).
    6. Exhibit professional behaviors consistent with clinical practice as described in the Ten Professional Abilities, APTA Core Values, and the Code of Ethics for the Physical Therapist within the DPT Student Handbook.
    7. Complete all required South College and DPT Program documents in preparation for graduation.
    8. Honor all professional and financial obligations to South College as published in the South College and DPT Program Handbooks, and as specified in any written communications from the School’s administrators.

    South College reserves the right, and the student, by the act of matriculation, concedes to give South College the right to require withdrawal at any time the college deems it necessary to safeguard the standards of scholarship, conduct, and compliance with regulations, or for such other reasons deemed appropriate by South College as set forth in the South College Student Handbook, DPT Student Handbook, and/or the South College Catalog.

    Programs