The Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) has granted the Doctorate of Occupational Therapy program Pre-Accreditation status. In a letter to the department, ACOTE states the program “would appear to meet the 2018 ACOTE Accreditation Standards if fully implemented by the plans.”
ACOTE identified the following strengths: innovative subject-centered integrative curriculum, holistic admissions, diverse student cohorts, staffing, authentic assessment, learning experiences, supportive institution, student leadership, faculty scholarship, and the faculty’s engagement in developing and accessing our curriculum.
At this juncture, ACOTE would also point out any outstanding areas of concern based on their review of our self-study and additional materials you requested. ACOTE reported no areas of concern.
“Upon review of the initial Report of Self-Study and the additional materials requested, no remaining areas of concern exist. The Duke University School of Medicine OTD program is scheduled for an initial on-site on October 23-25, 2023. These dates should allow completion of the accreditation process before graduation of the first class of students,” the letter from ACOTE stated.
Here is an overview of the process from ACOTE. “The program must be granted Candidacy Status, have a pre-accreditation review, complete an on-site evaluation, and be granted Accreditation Status before its graduates will be eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapist administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT).”
"While there is work to be done, I am pleased that we have been successful so far and seem on track to finish the steps involved in this thorough process. To help us with the final phase, we will work with consultants who will conduct parts of a mock on-site visit to help us prepare. We look forward to participating in the on-site visit, which will be another opportunity to showcase Duke OTD. I appreciate the immense work our staff, faculty, and graduate assistants completed to get us to this point in the process," said Founding Program Director and Division Chief Barbara Hooper, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA.