Congratulations on being accepted into the PTA Program at Wallace Community College. Your acceptance into the Program reflects your hard work and dedication to your education and chosen profession. The next two years should be exciting and rewarding in preparing you for a PTA career.
The faculty and staff of the College will do everything possible to make your education successful and enjoyable. We will strive to provide you with the educational opportunities necessary to become a PTA. You should take full advantage of these opportunities, remembering you only get out of an experience what you put into it.
The choice of a career is a personal decision. However, having chosen this profession, you must now assume the inherent ethics and responsibilities of the profession. You are now taking the responsibility for treating other human beings and influencing their lives. For this reason, the educational process for becoming a PTA will evaluate you not just on your knowledge, but on your work ethics and sense of professionalism, as well.
The next years of study will involve classroom, lab, and clinical work as well as a lot of outside study. The PTA Program has a highly structured curriculum and schedule. You will have limited choices of classes, times and schedules. You must be available for class or clinic when requested, including Fridays, Saturdays and evenings. Meetings outside of regular class times will be scheduled in advance, in consideration of working students; however, attendance will be mandatory.
There is a large component of clinical practice in the curriculum. Some of the clinical sites may not be within traveling distance of your home. You must provide your own transportation to the clinical sites, and you may have to live away from home for up to nine weeks during the program.
This handbook will inform you of policies and procedures particular to the PTA Program. You should keep this readily accessible. Please refer to the Wallace Community College Catalog/Student Handbook or other policies.
We welcome you and look forward to a lot of fun, hard work, and new friendships!