Jamestown College announces the expansion of campus to Fargo with new doctoral program
Jamestown College broke ground Oct. 4 in Fargo on a new 13,500-square foot facility which will become the future home of the College’s developing Doctor of Physical Therapy program. It will be the College’s first doctoral program and the first to be offered in a new location in order to capitalize on Fargo’s major health care facilities and programs.
The College’s Program Director, Dr. Nancy Nuzzo, is developing the curriculum and hiring faculty with the goal of enrolling the inaugural cohort group of 30 to 36 students in the fall of 2013. Over the next three years, Jamestown College will hire a total of eight full-time faculty and staff to serve the 100-plus students who will be enrolled in the program.
The new doctoral program will provide a significant opportunity for not only Jamestown College students, but also for graduates of other regional colleges and universities. In recent years, the medical field has seen a significant increase in the demand for physical therapy services. With a limited number of programs available for aspiring physical therapists, the College will be providing an important new resource in the region.
“In thinking about the need for numerous and diverse clinical opportunities, as well as the recruitment of students, faculty, and staff, we determined this program should be located in a larger metropolitan area,” says Jamestown College President Robert S. Badal. “With no such program currently based in Fargo, it’s the natural location for us.”
The Doctor of Physical Therapy program and a new undergraduate major in Exercise Science are the latest developments in Jamestown College’s long and successful history in science and health-related fields. Graduates in nursing, biology, chemistry and pre-professional areas benefit from the College’s excellent reputation and tradition of preparing students for success in graduate and professional school. Jamestown College’s nursing program was the first four-year program in North Dakota. Overall, Jamestown College graduates enjoy a 98% placement rate in the workforce or in graduate school.
The building site is 4190 26th Ave. S., Fargo.
Graduation from a physical therapist education program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA 22314; phone; 703-706-3245; accreditation@apta.org is necessary for eligibility to sit for the licensure examination, which is required in all states.
Jamestown College is seeking accreditation of a new physical therapist education program from CAPTE. The program will submit an Application for Candidacy, which is the formal application required in the pre-accreditation stage. Submission of this document does not assure that the program will be granted Candidate for Accreditation status. Achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status is required prior to implementation of the professional phase of the program; therefore, no students may be enrolled in professional courses until Candidate for Accreditation status has been achieved. Further, though achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status signifies satisfactory progress toward accreditation, it does not assure that the program will be granted accreditation.
