News
December 15, 2023
The OTA & PTA EAP What's New: December 2023
Please read our December 2023 newsletter for updates about our Standards Revision Project, recent accreditation awards, and more!
August 14, 2023
The OTA & PTA EAP What's New: August 2023
Please read our August 2023 newsletter for updates about our Standards Revision Project and more!
January 6, 2023
The OTA & PTA EAP What's New: January 2023
Please read our January 2023 newsletter for updates about our Standards Revision Project, recent accreditation awards, comings and goings on the Joint Accreditation Committee, and more!
August 26, 2022
The OTA & PTA EAP What's New: August 2022
Please read our August 2022 newsletter for updates about our Standards Revision Project, recent accreditation awards, comings and goings, and more!
July 8, 2021
The OTA & PTA EAP What's New: July 2021
Please read our July 2021 newsletter for updates about our Standards Revision Project, recent accreditation awards, comings and goings on the Joint Accreditation Committee, and more!
May 4, 2021
The OTA & PTA EAP What's New: May 2021
Please read our May 2021 newsletter for updates about our Standards Revision Project, comings and goings on the Joint Accreditation Committee, and more!
March 11, 2021
Updated COVID-19 Guidance for Education Programs
In March of 2020, education programs were advised of temporary changes to our accreditation standards and policies that were approved by both governing boards. The Joint Accreditation Committee recently approved another extension of the temporary changes for students enrolled from March 11, 2020 to August 1, 2022. It is expected that students who are enrolled from August 1, 2022 onward will meet the original accreditation standards. Click here to learn more:
December 8, 2020
The OTA & PTA EAP What's New: December 2020
Please read our December 2020 newsletter for recent accreditation awards, progress on revising the accreditation standards, and other news.
October 29, 2020
Standards Revision Project Starts November 2
Read our Standards Revision Project 2020-2021 Fact Sheet for more information about this important project.
The OTA & PTA EAP What's New: October 2020
Please read our October 2020 newsletter for updates about our Standards Revision Project, comings and goings on the Joint Accreditation Committee, responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, and our progress on our Strategic Plan.
October 16, 2020
Updated COVID-19 Guidance for Education Programs
In March of this year, education programs were advised of temporary changes to our accreditation standards and policies that were approved by both governing boards. These changes applied to the education of students currently enrolled. This guidance is still in effect and will continue to be until it is reviewed again in late Spring 2021. Click here to learn more:
October 9, 2020
PEAC and OTA & PTA EAP Website Refresh
By next spring, the OTA & PTA EAP will have a new website! We want to make sure it's engaging and all the content is easy to find. We are seeking a website developer to work on the project.
Read our Request for Proposal for more information
September 21, 2020
Our goal is clear: Review and streamline our Accreditation Standards 1-5 to ensure the quality of accredited OTA & PTA Education programs and relevancy to current professional environments.
If you believe in transformative and impactful education systems to meet Canada's health system needs, the Joint Accreditation Committee wants to hear from you. Our immediate need is volunteers for our Standards Revision Sub-Committee who will start their work in late October.
Please read our Call for Volunteers for more information.
Interested? Great! Read the Standards Review Sub-Committee Terms of Reference and fill out the short interest profile form.
September 3, 2020
The Occupational Therapist Assistant and Physiotherapist Assistant Education Accreditation Program (OTA & PTA EAP) is pleased to announce that the combined Self Study Report Form-6 OTA & PTA (SSR-6 OTA & PTA Form) is ready to pilot.
Education Programs and Peer Review Teams who are participating in accreditation reviews from 2020-2021 will be asked to test the combined form and provide feedback to the evaluation team. The OTA&PTA EAP Program Manager will be in touch with programs who may have already started to assemble their Self Study Reports using the separate forms to discuss changes that would apply to these forms too.
As part of the OTA & PTA EAP's strategic priority to streamline documentation requirements, the objective of the combined form is to prevent unnecessary duplication of information yet still provide specific evidence of compliance with Standard 6 for both OTA and PTA competencies.
Please read our communication to programs for more information.
June 2020
It's time to review and streamline our Accreditation Standards 1-5 to reflect current education and professional practice environments, and begin to redress systematic and structural racism. If you have experience in developing standards and would like to lead a project that values consultation with various stakeholders we'd like to hear from you! Please review the Expression of Interest (EOI) document and submit your EOI by July 10, 2020.
Interested in participating but not as a lead consultant? Please contact our Program Manager, Mary Clark, with your ideas.
May 2020
The OTA & PTA EAP What's New: May 2020
Please read our May 2020 newsletter for updates about recent accreditation awards, joint accreditation committee membership, and appreciation for our peer reviewers. The newsletter also included information about our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, announcement of an upcoming workshop for educators about Program Evaluation, and update on our progress on our Strategic Plan.
April 2020
Please read our updated Frequently Asked Questions document with updated information following our Information Session for Education Programs on March 27, and a subsequent meeting with the Joint Accreditation Committee on April 1, 2020.
March 2020
Please read our guidance to programs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as of March 26, 2020. These temporary changes are focused on OTA & PTA educators’ concerns about maintaining Accreditation Status, specifically related to required fieldwork hours and Substantive Change Reporting.
COVID-19 Changes to OTA & PTA EAP Standards and Policies Guidance for Education Programs
September 2019
We are very pleased to welcome Mary Clark to the position of Program Manager, OTA & PTA EAP, effective September 23, 2019. Click here to view the press release.
Program Updates
A summary of the work completed over the most recent several months, including updated policies/resources:
Read our December 2019 Newsletter which includes updates about recent accreditation awards, joint accreditation committee membership and staff, Criterion 3.4 compliance, Annual Report survey news, and a note about our new compliance terminology.
Read our May 2019 Newsletter which includes accreditation award updates, information about upcoming Progress Report due dates and a summary of our new Strategic Plan.
Read our December 2018 Newsletter which includes information regarding accreditation awards, information about changes to our Joint Accreditation Committee membership and a few reminders about upcoming deadlines. You will also find information on upcoming opportunities to be involved as part of a Peer Review Team in 2020.
If you were unable to attend our June 20 2018 - Education Session Teleconference, you can watch the presentation and Q & A on our YouTube playlist.
Results of the OTA & PTA EAP 2017 education program survey are now available. The annual survey gathers a variety of information about all affiliated programs (demographics, student and faculty information and program information), and the results are summarized in this report: 2017 OTA & PTA Education Programs Survey Report.
Read our July 2018 Newsletter which includes information regarding our revised Standards document, new Self Study Report Forms, and revisions to our Accreditation Handbooks for Programs and Peer Reviewers. You'll also find information on upcoming opportunities to be involved as part of a Peer Review Team in 2019.
Read our May 2018 Newsletter which includes information on demonstrating compliance with Criterion 3.4 (now CORE), a pilot project to address challenges with peer review team recruitment, an Invitation to our Annual Education Session, and some helpful tips on putting together a Self Study or Progress Report that meets the formatting requirements.
Read our December 2017 Newsletter which includes updates to our Substantive Change reporting policy, an introduction to the new OTA PTA educator representative on the Joint Accreditation Committee, and a request for Peer Reviewer volunteers for 2019. The newsletter also includes a link to an interesting article from OT Now about the role of OTA's in Canada.
Results of the OTA & PTA EAP 2016 education program survey are now available. The annual survey gathers a variety of information about all affiliated programs (demographics, student and faculty information and program information), and the results are summarized in this report: 2016 OTA & PTA Education Programs Survey Report
Read our August 2017 Newsletter which included an introduction to our new Joint Accreditation Committee recent-graduate member, a request for Peer Reviewer volunteers for 2018. This newsletter also included links to updated resources including revised Program and Peer Review Team Handbooks, and vvideos available on the OTA & PTA EAP YouTube channel (including a new video about setting goals for Program Evaluation).
Read our May 2017 Newsletter which includes an announcement of the new Chair-Elect for our Joint Accreditation Committee, and a CAOT Award of Merit received by the Joint Accreditation. This issue also inclues new accreditation awards, and policy and accreditation updates and resources particularly with respect to the new compliance language which will be used during all upcoming accreditation reviews.
Read our December 2016 Newsletter which includes a video guide to implementing the new formatting requirements for Progress Reports or Self Study Reports.
Read our October 2016 Newsletter with information about new Formatting Requirements for Self Study Reports, and links to our new video about becoming a peer reviewer with the OTA & PTA EAP.
Read our August 2016 Newsletter with information about revisions to the 2012 Standards and resources to assist with fieldwork tracking and role emerging placements.
Past news and reports:
-
2015 OTA & PTA EAP Program Survey Report
Read our May 2016 Newsletter
December 2015
June 2015
November 2014
July 2014
November 2013
July 19, 2016
Revised Accreditation Standards and Supporting Resources
The 2012 Accreditation Standards have been revised to reflect the changes to CORE for Criterion 3.4:
-
The program provides clinical education/fieldwork experiences in occupational therapy and physiotherapy that enable students to achieve the learning outcomes.
Video of 2016 Education Session Now Available
Thank you once again to all who attended. The theme of the morning was Accreditation as a Quality Improvement Initiative.
To view the videos of the 2016 event, please click: View Presentation Videos (YouTube Playlist) April 30, 2016
T-Res Summary Report and Recommendations Finalized
The T-Res Summary Report and Recommendations were finalized, and then reviewed and approved by the Boards of CAOT and PEAC in April. Both organizations are committed to implementing the recommendations. The OTA & PTA EAP will be working towards implementation in the coming months and more information will follow soon. The report details the study results and offers six key recommendations. Special thank you to all who contributed to this project.
Read the T-Res Summary Report
New 2016-2018 Strategic Plan for OTA & PTA EAP
Read more about the new Strategic Plan here
