Accreditation

WVU's Division of Occupational Therapy has been granted Accreditation Status by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), located at 4720 Montgomery Lane, PO Box 31220, Bethesda, MD 20824-1220. AOTA's phone number is (301) 652-AOTA. The OT Program at WVU was awarded re-accreditation in 2003. The next scheduled onsite visit for accreditation will be 2013. More information about accreditation can also be found at the AOTA web site: http://www.aota.org

NBCOT Examination

Graduates are able to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapist administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc. (NBCOT).The address and telephone number for NBCOT are: National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc., 12 South Summit Avenue, Suite 100, Gaithersburg, MD 20877-4150; telephone = (301) 990-7979. More information regarding the exam can be found at http://www.nbcot.org. After successful completion of this exam, the individual will be an Occupational Therapist, Registered (OTR). Most states require licensure in order to practice; however, state licenses are usually based on the results of the NBCOT Certification Examination.

During the three calendar year period of 2009, 2010, and 2011, 111 students graduated from the Occupational Therapy Program at West Virginia University. During this same time period, 111 students took the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc. (NBCOT) examination for the first time. Of these 111, 89 passed the NBCOT examination on their first attempt (while 22 did not pass on their first attempt), resulting in a first time pass rate of 80.2%. All graduates who did not pass on initial attempt(s) successfully passed on follow-up testing.

Note: A felony conviction may impact a graduate’s ability to take the NBCOT (National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc.) examination and/or obtaining a state license. For further information on NBCOT’s Character Review Program, interested parties can obtain information from that Board on their web site at: http://www.nbcot.org.