College Employee to Serve Second Term on Accreditation Council

Published 12.08.2005

News
Faculty & Staff

Patricia J. MartinPatricia J. Martin, clinical director for Pennsylvania College of Technology's occupational therapy assistant program, has been invited to serve a second three-year term as a member of the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education.

ACOTE is an 18-member board that fosters the development and accreditation of quality occupational therapy education programs. It establishes the educational standards for professional- and technical-level programs in colleges and universities across the country and is recognized as an accrediting body by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council on Higher Education Accreditation. The board's members are selected from a national pool of occupational therapy educators and practitioners.

"As a member of the council, I contribute to shaping the educational standards for the future of occupational therapy," Martin said. "It's an exciting time to be on the board right now, as we are in the middle of revising the standards of education."

She also reviews self-studies and interim reports of occupational therapy assistant education programs from across the country, conducts on-site accreditation visits to technical-level programs, submits reports of her findings and votes on accreditation actions. She was elected ACOTE's treasurer and is a member of its executive committee.

Martin has been assistant professor and clinical director of the occupational therapy assistant program at Penn College since 1991.

"It is an honor to be selected for the council from a national pool of reviewers," she said. "I represent the technical level of occupational therapy education and bring recognition to Penn College as an occupational-therapy educator. Since I am a graduate of the occupational therapy assistant program at Penn College, I feel that my participation in ACOTE allows me to be a positive role model for the college's future occupational therapy assistant graduates."

For more information about the academic programs offered by the School of Health Sciences at Penn College, call (570) 327-4519, send e-mail or visit online .