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KSU Trustees Approve Two Associate Degree Programs
KENT, Ohio -- To help Kent State University students secure good jobs and to meet growing regional needs, the KSU Board of Trustees yesterday approved the establishment of associate degree programs in two high-demand fields: occupational therapy assistant and veterinary technology.The occupational therapy assistant program will be offered at the university's Ashtabula Regional Campus, effective spring semester 2006. The veterinary assistant program will be offered at the Tuscarawas Regional Campus, effective fall semester 2006. In addition, the university will develop a hybrid program for both occupational therapy assistant and physical therapy assistant programs that is offered online, as well as an intensive weekend clinical program, trustees said.The new, two-year programs were created after research indicated a clear regional need for trained professionals in each area, trustees noted. U.S. Department of Labor statistics indicate that employment needs for occupational therapy assistants are expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations through 2012. Job growth is inevitable as the population ages and advances in medicine allow more people with critical health problems to survive and require rehabilitation therapy. In addition, rising health care costs are expected to result in third-party payers encouraging the delegation of more occupational therapy work to occupational therapy assistants and aides, trustees said.Creation of an associate degree program in veterinary technology was first recommended by the New Program Development Task Force at Kent State Tuscarawas, which conducted a survey of the local community and surrounding communities and found that no such program exists in Ohio within an 80-mile radius of the Tuscarawas Campus. In November 2004, the Ohio Board of Regents granted permission for the development of a detailed program proposal, which was formed and approved by a new Veterinary Technology Advisory Board and also endorsed by the department of biological sciences.Both programs will take advantage of existing faculty expertise and established degree programs. Trustees noted that the occupational therapy assistant program is a logical addition to Ashtabula Campus offerings because the campus already offers a related physical therapy assistant program. Several courses will be shared between the programs and taught by current faculty members. Approximately half of the curriculum for the veterinary technology program already is in place at the Tuscarawas Campus. Interest in the program is expected to be high enough that program income will exceed program costs by the end of the second year, even factoring in the need for new equipment and remodeling of existing classroom/laboratory space, trustees said.Visit Kent State University: www.kent.edu"