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TWIN FALLS, Idaho (AP) — A group of College of Southern Idaho students are stuck in limbo after completing their physical therapist assistant classes, but being barred from graduating due to accreditation problems.
Physical therapist assistant classes at CSI are not accredited, which means the 10 students who have completed their coursework can't take a licensing exam, The Times-News reports (http://bit.ly/1SFT1ts). On Friday a national accreditation will review the program.
The Idaho Consortium for Physical Therapist Assistant Education includes CSI, North Idaho College, College of Western Idaho and Lewis-Clark State College.
Students enrolled knowing the program wasn't yet accredited as new professional-technical programs can't apply for accreditation until they're running.
"That's the difficult nature with these types of programs," said Jayson Lloyd, an instructional dean who oversees health science programs at CSI.
Lloyd said the plan is to graduate the students as soon as the program is accredited. The first cohort of students completed the program in the fall.
The consortium received candidacy for accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education in November 2013. The commission reviewed the entire program, not just CSI, and in November 2015 decided to withhold accreditation.
The colleges requested an expedited reconsideration and the commission will have 10 days to issue a written decision after the site visit at North Idaho College in Coeur d'Alene on Friday.
"We're in this to win this," Lloyd said. "We want to do the right thing for students."
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Information from: The Times-News, http://www.magicvalley.com
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