Concordia University Ann Arbor’s entry-level Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTDe) program has been granted a Status of Accreditation for a seven-year period, the maximum term allowed for a new program.
The Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education, or ACOTE, sent word of their vote on Friday afternoon, Dec. 12. The ACOTE is the official accrediting agency that ensures the quality of occupational therapy educational programs in the United States and beyond. In their accreditation report, the ACOTE cited just one suggestion for improvement in the area of utilizing other available resources within the institution to enhance interprofessional education opportunities. Meanwhile, the report lauded CUAA’s program for:
- Its program director, whose leadership promotes a unified faculty who collaboratively work in designing wholistic learning experiences for the students to develop clinical reasoning and skill application; and
- Its faculty, for their team cohesiveness and collaboration, who provide students with learning opportunities at the end of each academic year and individualized instruction when necessary to reinforce learning and promote competency in skill application.
“First of all, I am really grateful to my team of faculty for the passion they bring to the classroom every day, and for their commitment and extra time put in over the course of the past three years to make this accreditation process a success,” says Program Director Julie Chreston, OTD, OTRL. “We are excited to be a part of the future of Concordia Ann Arbor, and we’re very hopeful to pave a way for continued growth and success in Ann Arbor.”
This news comes as CUAA prepares to graduate its inaugural cohort of OTDe candidates in May. On Jan. 6, 2025, the Alpha cohort will begin their final semester, a 14-week capstone experience designed to help students pursue more advanced knowledge and experience in a specific area of practice.
Want in?
CUAA’s OTDe program is now accepting applicants for the 2025-26 academic year. CUAA accepts 28 students each year for its three-year program of study. The university also offers a Bachelor of Science in Rehabilitation Science (BSRS) program, which is the undergraduate precursor to the OTDe, and students who begin their undergraduate experience at CUAA have the opportunity to enroll in an accelerated path to their bachelor’s and doctoral completion.
Program threads include occupation as a centering concept, spirituality as a lens through which students view the client, professional identity as the foundation for practice, deliberate practice and advocacy as primary tools for addressing occupational performance, and an innovative, engaged, and transformative curriculum design.