Mission Statement
The mission of Freed-Hardeman University’s Physical Therapist Assistant Program is to equip students with an education that integrates Christian faith, scholarship, and service in order to provide holistic healthcare services to individuals and communities throughout the world. By growing in knowledge through dedicated faculty and a comprehensive curriculum focused on contemporary practice, the program will prepare graduates to serve as competent and ethical physical therapists assistants working under the direction and supervision of a licensed physical therapist.
The mission of the PTA program supports the University’s mission in that it exists to provide an excellent healthcare education permeated with Christian values whose graduates are morally and spiritually prepared to provide safe, evidence-based contemporary care and render professional services to individuals, churches, communities, and the world.
Goal 1. The program will prepare graduates to be competent and ethical physical therapist assistants able to serve their communities by working under the direct supervision of a licensed physical therapist.
Goal 2. Program students and graduates will demonstrate appropriate professionalism with patients, program faculty, and other healthcare providers.
Goal 3. Program graduates will be prepared to communicate in a culturally competent manner with patients and caregivers from diverse backgrounds.
Goal 4. Program faculty will provide a high-quality learning environment and a comprehensive curriculum based on contemporary, evidence-based physical therapy.
Goal 5. The program will integrate Christian faith, scholarship, and service to prepare students for a lifetime of service and achievement.
CAPTE Accreditation
Graduation from a physical therapist assistant education program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 3030 Potomac Ave., Suite 100, Alexandria, Virginia 22305-3085; phone: 703-706-3245; accreditation@apta.org is necessary for eligibility to sit for the licensure examination, which is required in all states.
Effective July 19, 2022, Freed-Hardeman University has been granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 3030 Potomac Ave., Suite 100, Alexandria, Virginia 22305-3085; phone: 703-706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org. If needing to contact the program/institution directly, please call Dr. Ashley Prentice, Program Director, at 731-989-6097 or email aprentice@fhu.edu.
Candidate for Accreditation is an accreditation status of affiliation with the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education that indicates the program may matriculate students in technical/professional courses. Achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status does not assure that the program will be granted Initial Accreditation.