HELP !!:4 schools on probation accreditation=new students should NOT attend???

[EastCoastHope]

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4 OT/OTA schools are on probation accreditation for different reasons. Does this mean no student should even consider attending them?

Do schools that have probation accreditation ever NOT emerge positively from the situation?

How can a prospective student decide what to do?
2.5 years of tuition and expenses is a lot of money to risk!

Thanks, as I gasp thinking about loans! 😱

 

[Whistle Pig]

Well if one reads the disclosure statements, some are simply rectified, others would seem to pose more significant issues.

While this might be deemed crying "the sky is falling" when it's not, it's a fair question, and one of the reasons for accreditation, that buyer might beware. To vastly differing degrees, these programs have failed over some time to remediate long-known circumstances.

More than a probationary accreditation status, what does that tell you about the programs???? Worthy of your investment of big bucks? You decide.

 

[lawhim2]

It probably depends on the individual reasons for probation. I would also look at what type of universities they are overall and how many well established medical programs they have.

Which schools are they?

 

[EastCoastHope]

These are just the OT programs:

Tuskegee University, Howard University, York College (The City University of New York), University of Texas at El Paso

 

[gymnastau]

These are just the OT programs:

Tuskegee University, Howard University, York College (The City University of New York), University of Texas at El Paso

If I recall correctly University of Texas El Paso's issue was some exam pass rate issues. This school has recently transitioned (2006?) from a Bachelor's program to a Masters. I know a few people who have gone there and worked with them personally. Quality OT's and it was a great program they felt. They all passed exams with flying colors. I think overall El Paso is a solid school.

Howard University invited me to an interview... a gut feeling told me to decline and I did. Thank goodness! I'd rather wait another 6 months or a year. I had no idea they were on probation when I applied. Their issues are more concerning to me. They were cited on my problems... lack of proper journals, texts, classroom space, lab space... ect...

Sometimes the issue at the school is simply a faculty member leaving which drops their required number of faculty of being present. Sometimes it's paperwork issues and sometimes the issue is greater. You have to look each individual school up to get a feel for it.

 

[Whistle Pig]

The specific details of each are easily accessible simply by looking at the AOTA ACOTE site and accreditation status, press "Disclosure Statement" It lays it out in terms of issues, timing, forewarnings, etc. Explains it clearly.

As noted beyond the issues, it seems those disclosures reveal some broader, foundational issues for a few places relative to OT and its validity w/in the institution.

 

[OT2Be2013]

4 OT/OTA schools are on probation accreditation for different reasons. Does this mean no student should even consider attending them?

Do schools that have probation accreditation ever NOT emerge positively from the situation?

How can a prospective student decide what to do?
2.5 years of tuition and expenses is a lot of money to risk!

Thanks, as I gasp thinking about loans! 😱

That would make me nervous, too. As others have said, it depends on the severity of the issue as to why the schools are on probation. Still, I think if I were you, I would want to talk to someone from the school itself to find out what they are doing to rectify it and when it will be resolved.

 

[Whistle Pig]

More so, I'd want to talk to those who've placed the institution on probation. The "company line" would not do much beyond lend assurance, "All is well. Don't worry. Be happy. We'll tell you more when you get here. Pay up." 😉

No, I'd want to hear from the teacher who's given the poor grade rather than the student who received it. Said another way in Shawshank Rede mption, "Not a guilty man in Shawshank."😱

 

[superCOTA]

As for York .. as i recall, their passing rate is a little low, which is a factor just as important as accrediation.

 

[Whistle Pig]

Yea, a LITTLE LOW? 45%! I'd say that's even better than "a little low." I think they got it up to 78% on retesting.

But for students, this NBOT pass rate can be very deceiving and misleading. The real issue is WHO were the collective students taking the test. You see, the implication is that York is not doing well in preparing its students. And I guess the bottomline is the bottomline, i.e. passing the test. But ...to compare York with BU or Wash U, where no doubt they are getting virtually all stellar, top-dog students, and then to compare it to a CUNY population? Well, that fails big time to give a clear picture of the quality of the program. It is not difficult imagining that a CUNY eventual pass rate of nearly 80% MIGHT (I'm not saying "does" ...we simply don't know) trump a 95% pass rate at a national top-rated program.

Now what MIGHT be reasonable to assume ... IF one is accepted to a top 10 program, the chances are a vitural lock the student is sufficiently strong that pending solid effort in the program and preparation, she/he will likely pass, regardless of the program they attend. Conversely, there would be NO EVIDENCE that if the CUNY student group were somehow transposed to Boston U, that the program would enable 95% of them passing. In fact ... it might be 45%. You see, the figure really says nothing about the quality of a program. It may say much about the quality of the students. Like undergrad educatiion where EVERY Ivy League kid is essentially a top profile kid, this is no diff ... like a computer ... bright, well prepared students in ... bright well prepared students out. The real quality of a program is how much "value" is added to the students enrolled. And THAT is a very tough measurement. In any case, simply measuring NBOT pass rates does not provide much information about perceived quality of program absent knowing specifically the quality student being enrolled.