Occupational Therapy Assistant Program Mission, Vision & Educational Philosophy

OTA Program Mission Statement

The mission of the Methodist University Occupational Therapy Assistant (MU BSOTA) Program is to cultivate exceptional and diverse practitioners that are committed to assisting the profession of occupational therapy in advancing human health and wellness through participation in everyday life activities.

To achieve this mission, the MU BSOTA program acknowledges the importance of grounding our students in the MU liberal arts tradition by providing holistic growth opportunities for our students to develop their spiritual, academic, and social selves. To be able to achieve their fullest potential of becoming self-directed learners, ethical decision makers, and compassionate and authentic occupational therapy practitioners the MU BSOTA program upholds the intellectual values and ethical principles of truth, virtue, justice, and love. With use of evidence-based practice, clinical reasoning, and creative expression MU graduates will demonstrate the distinct value of authentic occupational therapy practices through their body of knowledge, skills, and client-centered care that is sensitive to the needs and rights of those they serve.

OTA Program Vision Statement

The MU BSOTA Program will be a leader in occupational therapy assistant professional education for the development of diverse and well-rounded practitioners. The program will generate compassionate and ethical practitioners who will serve their communities and the profession as a bridge between biomedical and sociocultural health through the delivery of collaborative, authentic, and evidence-based use of daily life activities and interventions to improve health. Through their practice, our graduates will engage, enrich, and empower the lives and communities they serve.

OTA Program Philosophy

Occupational therapy is a client-centered health profession grounded in the belief that engagement in meaningful occupations is essential to health, well-being, and participation in everyday life. Participation in occupation is a primary driver of health and supports adaptation across the lifespan, and occupations function as both a therapeutic means and an end in practice (American Occupational Therapy Association [AOTA], 2025). Through evidence-based practice and purposeful activity, occupational therapy practitioners support individuals, families, and communities in achieving independence and participation in meaningful life roles.

Occupational therapy views individuals holistically, recognizing the dynamic interaction between personal factors, environmental contexts, and occupational performance. Through assessment, planning, intervention, and collaboration, occupational therapy assistants facilitate participation in meaningful activities and support individuals in functioning as independently as possible within their homes and communities.

The profession is guided by the American Occupational Therapy Association Code of Ethics (2025), which emphasizes the core principles of beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy, justice, veracity, and fidelity. These principles ensure ethical, client-centered, and culturally responsive practice.

The Methodist University Occupational Therapy Assistant (MU OTA) Program is committed to cultivating competent, compassionate, and ethical practitioners who promote health and wellness through occupational engagement. The program fosters an active and inclusive learning environment that reflects the needs of a diverse and global society. In alignment with the mission of Methodist University, the program affirms the values of truth, virtue, justice, and love, supporting both intellectual and personal development.

Students in the MU OTA program are expected to engage, enrich, and empower the individuals and communities they serve. The program prepares graduates to earn the credential of Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) upon completion of the Bachelor of Science degree and to pursue licensure in their chosen state, supporting their role as lifelong learners and contributors to the profession.

References

American Occupational Therapy Association (2025), AOTA Code of Ethics. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 2025, Vol. 79(Supplement 3), 7913060400. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2025.79S302

American Occupational Therapy Association (2025), The Philosophical Base of Occupational Therapy. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 2025. Vol 79 (Supplement 3) 7913410200 https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2025.79S301

OTA Program Educational Philosophy

The Methodist University’s Occupational Therapy Assistant Program (MU BSOTA) prepares students to be autonomous learners, critical thinkers, decision makers, problem solvers, collaborators, and authentic and ethical entry-level practitioners. Just as occupational therapy views each client holistically, the MU BSOTA program engages students in a variety of learning theories and models to ensure that all students are given the opportunity of a diverse learning environment. The MU BSOTA program strives to educate through innovative teaching and learning strategies (AOTA, 2021); to create different avenues for learning through rich technological and human resources (AOTA 2021); and through interdisciplinary collaboration (collaborative learning).

The MU BSOTA program understands that all humans are active beings, participate in purposeful activities, and that learning entails experience, thinking, feeling, and doing (Clifford O’Brien, 2018). Just like the clients we serve, students must actively set goals and participate in determining a plan that promotes occupational performance by engaging in routines, tasks, and activities, while ensuring that there is continued harmony between the student and the learning environment. The MU BSOTA program emphasizes the intentional relationship model to foster our OTA students to advocate, collaborate, emphasize, encourage, instruct and problem solve (Taylor, 2008) for the OT profession.

Graduates of the MU BSOTA program must not only achieve competence in clinical knowledge and skills, but they must also be effective communicators, professional leaders, interdisciplinary scholars, and lifelong learners which aligns with our universities mission. Our program fosters this through interactive therapeutic interactions, student centered-baccalaureate projects, and occupation and evidenced-based decision making in the classroom and in the community.

References

American Occupational Therapy Association (2021). Occupational Therapy Curriculum design framework. American Journal of Occupational Therapy 75(Suppl. 3) 7513430010. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2021.75S3008.

Clifford O’Brian, J. (2018). Introduction to Occupational Therapy, Fifth Edition. St Louis, Missouri: Elsevier Inc.

Costa, D., Molinsky, R, & Sauerwald, C. (2012). Collaborative Intraprofessional Education with Occupational Therapy and Occupational Therapy Assistant Students. OT Practice 17(21)

Taylor, R.R. (2008). The Intentional Relationship: Outpatient therapy and use of self. FA Davis