Chair, Physical Therapist Assistant Program

Advertised Position Title

Chair, Physical Therapist Assistant Program

Job Description

Provides academic, accreditation, clinical education, and administrative leadership for the Physical Therapist Assistant Program and related certificates.

Serves full time as the Program Director as defined by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) and serves as the Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education (ACCE).

Ensures program quality, regulatory and accreditation compliance, curriculum currency, assessment of student learning, effective clinical education, faculty support and supervision, student success, responsible stewardship of resources, and continuous improvement.

Represents the program within the College and with clinical partners, advisory committee members, professional organizations, transfer partners, employers, and community stakeholders.

Essential Functions

1. Program Leadership and Accreditation

• Serve full time as the CAPTE-defined Program Director and provide overall leadership, direction, and accountability for the Physical Therapist Assistant Program and related certificates.
• Maintain continuous compliance with CAPTE standards, required elements, policies, procedures, and reporting expectations; coordinate accreditation self-studies, annual reports, substantive change submissions, site visits, and required follow-up.
• Maintain complete, accurate, and current accreditation, curriculum, assessment, faculty, student, clinical education, and program records.
• Monitor applicable federal, state, College, Ohio Department of Higher Education, Higher Learning Commission, transfer/articulation, and professional requirements and implement changes necessary to maintain compliance.
• Lead program planning, evaluation, goal setting, continuous quality improvement, and completion of Program Review and Evaluation and other institutional reports.

2. Curriculum, Teaching, and Assessment

• Lead faculty in developing, reviewing, revising, and evaluating the program mission, goals, outcomes, curriculum, course sequence, related certificates, and instructional materials.
• Ensure curriculum reflects contemporary physical therapy practice, employer and community needs, credentialing expectations, CAPTE standards, and applicable state transfer and articulation requirements.
• Coordinate preparation and submission of course and program changes through College and state approval processes.
• Lead assessment of institutional, program, and course student learning outcomes, including selection of measures, establishment of benchmarks, collection and analysis of data, implementation of action plans, and evaluation of effectiveness.
• Provide classroom, laboratory, clinical, or other instruction as assigned and ensure course materials and syllabi are accurate, accessible, and available by established deadlines.

3. Clinical Education and Clinical Partnerships

• Serve as the Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education (ACCE) and lead the planning, development, coordination, evaluation, and continuous improvement of the clinical education component of the program.
• Develop and maintain a sufficient and diverse network of qualified clinical education sites and current affiliation agreements to support program enrollment and learning outcomes.
• Coordinate clinical placements, site visits, clinical instructor communication, student readiness, required records, evaluation processes, and resolution of clinical education concerns.
• Ensure clinical education policies, practices, documentation, and site expectations comply with CAPTE requirements, College policies, applicable laws, and professional standards.
• Build and maintain effective relationships with clinical partners, employers, professional organizations, and community stakeholders.

4. Faculty Leadership and Supervision

• Recruit, recommend for hire, orient, support, supervise, coach, and evaluate full-time and adjunct faculty assigned to the program and related certificates.
• Ensure faculty qualifications, assignments, workloads, compensation documentation, schedules, professional development, and contractual responsibilities are managed accurately and in a timely manner.
• Maintain a qualified and sufficient faculty pool and coordinate substitute or replacement coverage when needed.
• Facilitate regular faculty meetings, collaborative planning, performance feedback, professional development, and continuous improvement activities.
• Promote a positive, respectful, inclusive, and student-centered work environment that supports accountability, trust, collaboration, and professional growth.

5. Student Success and Program Operations

• Support recruitment, admission, orientation, advising, retention, progression, completion, credentialing preparation, and career readiness of students in the program and related certificates.
• Respond to student questions and concerns, apply College and program policies consistently, maintain confidentiality, and refer students to appropriate College resources.
• Monitor enrollment, retention, completion, licensure examination, employment, and other program outcomes; use results to improve student support and program effectiveness.
• Coordinate semester scheduling, course offerings, faculty assignments, textbook and instructional material selection, transfer-credit review, and program communications.
• Ensure student, faculty, clinical, and program records are maintained in accordance with College, accreditation, legal, and records-retention requirements.

6. Budget, Facilities, Laboratories, Equipment, and Safety

• Develop and responsibly manage the approved program budget, including personnel, instructional, laboratory, clinical education, technology, travel, supplies, and professional development needs.
• Review course and laboratory fees, purchasing needs, contracts, and expenditures; reconcile resources and recommend priorities to College leadership.
• Plan for maintenance, replacement, acquisition, inventory, and appropriate use of specialized laboratory equipment, technology, instructional materials, and furnishings.
• Monitor facilities, laboratory conditions, accessibility, safety, security, infection-control practices, and risk-management requirements; coordinate corrective action with appropriate College offices.
• Collaborate with Business Affairs, Human Resources, Information Technology, Facilities, Public Safety, and other College offices to support effective program operations.

7. Advisory Committee, Outreach, and Institutional Service

• Establish and maintain an effective program advisory committee and facilitate at least two meetings each academic year to gather input and support strategic decision-making.
• Collaborate with Marketing and Communications, Admissions, Workforce and Community Services, and other offices to recruit students and communicate accurate program information.
• Develop and maintain articulation, transfer, workforce, and community partnerships that advance program quality and student opportunity.
• Participate in College, school, and program committees, councils, governance, planning, and strategic initiatives.
• Represent the College professionally with community partners, employers, professional associations, accreditors, and other stakeholders.

8. Professional Practice and Other Responsibilities

• Maintain current knowledge of physical therapy practice, higher education, accreditation, pedagogy, clinical education, technology, and workforce trends through ongoing professional development and professional organization participation.
• Model professionalism, ethical conduct, respect, accountability, collaboration, and commitment to the College mission and values.
• Perform other related duties and special projects as assigned

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Knowledge

• CAPTE accreditation standards, required elements, policies, procedures, reporting, self-study, site-visit, and continuous compliance expectations for Physical Therapist Assistant education.
• Contemporary physical therapy and physical therapist assistant clinical practice, professional standards, ethics, credentialing expectations, and the Ohio Physical Therapy Practice Act.
• Curriculum development, instructional design, educational theory and methodology, learning modalities, student evaluation, program evaluation, and outcome assessment.
• Clinical education administration, clinical site development, affiliation agreements, student placement, clinical instructor development, and clinical performance evaluation.
• Higher education administration, faculty supervision, student success practices, budgeting, enrollment management, program review, records management, and applicable laws and College policies.
• Laboratory operations, specialized equipment, safety, risk management, accessibility, and technology used in PTA education.

Skills

• Academic and administrative leadership, supervision, coaching, performance management, delegation, and team development.
• Clear, respectful, and effective written, oral, interpersonal, presentation, and conflict-resolution communication.
• Strategic planning, project management, organization, prioritization, problem solving, negotiation, and timely decision-making.
• Curriculum design, teaching, assessment, data analysis, report preparation, accreditation documentation, and continuous improvement.
• Budget planning, resource stewardship, purchasing, scheduling, recordkeeping, and use of common academic and administrative technology systems.
• Relationship building with students, faculty, staff, clinical partners, employers, advisory members, accreditors, and community stakeholders.

Abilities

• Lead a complex academic program while simultaneously meeting accreditation, institutional, clinical, personnel, budget, and student-support responsibilities.
• Interpret and apply accreditation standards, laws, policies, procedures, contracts, and professional expectations consistentl