Occupational Therapy Assistant AAS Degree

You will graduate with knowledge and experience in:

• Creating and using plans to help people, groups, and communities with different challenges.
• Facilitating therapy plans for individuals and groups for functional improvements.
• Clearly explaining and talking with people, families, and other healthcare workers.
• Teaching people and groups how to use special tools or change tasks to help them join in important activities.
• Providing information about health and wellness to people, groups, and communities.

Explore Courses, Details, and Costs

You gain hands-on experience through patient scenario simulation. These scenarios replicate all rehabilitation settings, using a variety of lab assessments and assistive devices.

Gain 600 hours of real-world work experience ensuring you have the skills you need to succeed in your future career.

The following is a partial list of employers who have hired graduates from this program:

• Blue Stone Therapy, Locations throughout Iowa
• Childserve, Ames, Iowa
• Mercy Medical Center, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
• Millennium Therapy, Locations throughout Iowa
• Northern Iowa Therapy/Fox Rehabilitation, Locations throughout Iowa
• On with Life, Ankeny, Iowa
• RehabVisions, Locations throughout Iowa
• Reliant Rehab, Locations throughout Iowa
• UnityPoint—Allen Hospital, Waterloo, IA
• Western Home Communities, Cedar Falls, IA

* All fees subject to change each year.

** The cost of textbooks is for new (including recommended) not used or rented ones.

Students are responsible for expenses related to fieldwork and travel.

Students will need to have a reliable computer and access to internet to run various computer programs including: OTA assigned programs, Zoom, Panopto, and Canvas.

To complete assignments we recommend Microsoft applications versus Google applications.

Students must have current health/medical insurances to participate in fieldwork. There will be no exceptions.

Students are expected to dress business casual the first spring term of the OTA program. Students will have uniforms issued during summer semester. After all students receive their items, the expectation is for students to wear the appropriate clothing to multiple simulation scenarios occurring in the OTA lab. The OTA program simulation activities give students a replica of a clinical environment. Simulation provides students opportunities to work on professional and soft skills in a safe environment.

This program qualifies for the Future Ready Iowa Last-Dollar Scholarship and will pay up to 100% of your tuition.

You must apply for, be awarded, and meet the ongoing eligibility requirements for the Last-Dollar Scholarship.

You can get right to work after your program. Or, if you plan to earn an associate degree and go on to earn a bachelor’s degree, consider your transfer options.

Des Moines University

An articulation agreement with Des Moines University allows you to transfer your coursework to their Doctor of Occupational Therapy program.

University of Cincinnati

An articulation agreement with the University of Cincinnati allows you to transfer your Occupational Therapy Assistant coursework toward a Bachelor's of Science in Health Sciences degree or toward the Early Assurance Pathway to a Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) degree.

If you’re interested in transferring, you must work closely with a program advisor here and at the transfer institution. This is important to ensure courses transfer and you meet program requirements.

Plan Your Transfer

You can take your prerequisite courses at Hawkeye Community College or transfer them from another accredited school. However, HSC-108: Introduction to Health Professions must be taken at Hawkeye.

Pre-Program Prerequisites

If you haven’t completed some of the prerequisite classes by the spring semester program start, you might be able to continue on in the program while completing the remaining prerequisite courses through the Learning Contract Process. To enroll for this process:

• You need a GPA of 2.5 or higher.
• Contact the Program Director to request the Learning Contract Process documents.
• Complete the documents and return them to the Program Director no later than one week before the spring semester starts.

Once your Learning Contract Process documents are reviewed, the Program Director will email you to let you know if you’re approved. If you are, you’ll:

• meet with the Program Director to finalize the Learning Contract Process.
• work with your Pre-Program Advisor to sign up for spring semester classes.

Contact the Admissions Office when you've completed the requirements:

• Prerequisite classes (or enrolled in the Learning Contract Process)
• Mandatory one-hour seminar

If you took any of the prerequisite classes at another school, make sure the Admissions Office has your official transcript.

The Admissions Office will review your file and confirm you've completed the requirements. Then they'll update your application status to Eligible-Start Date to be Determined and enter a date. This is the date you finished your prerequisites.

The Occupational Therapy Assistant program accepts 20 students every spring semester. Students are admitted based on their Eligible-State Date to be Determined date. This continues until all the spots are filled. If too many students meet the requirements for the same semester, some students may be placed on a waiting list until a spot opens up.

As a Health student at Hawkeye, you’ll need to complete the same background checks as hospital employees. This check will include fingerprinting and look into databases like the sex offender registry, child abuse and dependent adult registries, and Medicare/Medicaid fraud. Depending on the results, it could affect your ability to take part in clinical experiences.

The associate-degree-level occupational therapy assistant program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 510E, Bethesda, MD 20814. ACOTE’s telephone number c/o AOTA is (301) 652-AOTA and its web address is www.acoteonline.org. Graduates of the program will be eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapy assistant administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). After successful completion of this exam, the individual will be a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA). In addition, all states require licensure in order to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination. Note that a felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT certification examination or attain state licensure.

Hawkeye Community College Accreditation

All states require licensure in order to practice. State licensure is usually based on the results of the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) Certification Examination.

Successful completion of this program qualifies the student to test for license/certification in the state of Iowa.

Graduates who successfully pass the National Board Certification for Occupational Therapy and have their scores immediately sent to designated states are able to practice once the individual state’s licensure criteria is met. Graduates who have been practicing and plan to move to a different state need to review that state’s occupational therapy practice acts. As a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) you have access to the OTA licensure requirements by state.

See our State Licensure Google Sheet to identify the states in which Hawkeye's Occupational Therapy Assistant program requirements fulfill the state guidelines for professional licensure and certification.

Also see the American Occupational Therapy Association Career Licensure for more information about state licensure.

Licensure and Certification Disclosure

OTA Program National Statistics Reported by NBCOT

Occupational Therapy Assistant Program Mission

The mission of the Occupational Therapy Assistant program is to prepare qualified healthcare practitioners to work in collaboration with others for a better community and inspire lifelong learning.

Occupational Therapy Assistant Program Mission in Alignment with the Hawkeye Community College Mission

The Occupational Therapy Assistant program mission mirrors that of the College in stressing the importance “empowering students and enriching communities” (Hawkeye Community College, 2021) and “improving the communities we serve” (Hawkeye Community College, 2021). As occupational therapy practitioners, Occupational Therapy Assistant program graduates will learn the value of continual skill improvement and the importance of continued expansion of their treatment techniques and strategies. Investigation of global-wide solutions to impairment of occupational performance will be explored in multiple didactic courses and fieldwork experiences, furthering students’ readiness for providing occupational therapy services to diverse populations within the communities they live.