Occupational Therapy Assistant

Lisa Iffland

Program Director

The Occupational Therapy Assistant Program promotes meaningful living by adapting activities, tasks and the environment which enables people to fulfill their chosen life roles.

The program highlights skills instruction in the classroom, enhanced by hands-on learning experiences in health and wellness settings. Emphasis is on development of real-life problem solving skills needed for the occupational therapy assistant to enhance meaningful occupations in the lives of people.

The program’s mission is to prepare competent and effective occupational therapy practitioners who value occupation as both a means and as an end to quality living for self and others through a sound educational experience that includes preparation in:

  • The occupational therapy process
  • The impact of culture
  • Use of self as an agent of change
  • Ethical professional practice
  • Teaching and learning processes
  • Collaborating as a healthcare professional
  • Working in a variety of practice environments
  • Oral and written communication skills​
V​iew the OTA Depar​tment’s Student Learning​ Outcom​es​​​

The Occupational Therapy Assistant program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE​​​​​​​​​) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 6116 Executive Blvd., Suite 200, North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929.  ACOTE’s telephone number, is 301-652-6611.  
Annual criminal background checks are required by the program.  Facilities that serve children and older adults in particular will not allow anyone with a felony conviction or misdemeanor, regardless of the charge, to perform fieldwork at their site.  Therefore, a student with any type of felony or misdemeanor would not be eligible to complete the program since fieldwork is required as an accreditation standard. 

Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (A​COTE) webpage: acoteonline.org


At its August 2019 meeting, ACOTE reviewed Wright College’s progress report and reaffirmed the program’s full accreditation status. The program’s next self-study report will be due in 2023 and the next on-site evaluation will be scheduled within academic year 2023/2024.

Program Outcomes

​​​​Graduation Year Students Entering/Graduating​ ​Graduation Rate​
​2020 ​25/23 ​96%
​2021 ​24/23 ​96%​
​2022 13/12​ ​95%
​Total​ ​61/58 ​95.6%

The total number of graduates from the Wright College Occupational Therapy Assistant program during the 3 year period of 2020-2022 was 58, with an overall graduation rate of 95.6

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Faculty and Staff

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