Accreditation
Institutional Accreditation
Information on FGCU institutional accreditation is available at http://www.fgcu.edu/Provost/accreditation.html
Program Accreditation
The Physical Therapy program has been granted Accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education of the American Physical Therapy Association.
CAPTE Compliance
Policy on timely accreditation fee payment and documentation submission: “The department chairperson insures that accreditation fees are paid-in-full once the invoice is received from the Department of Accreditation of APTA and that all required documentation is submitted by any stated deadlines. This documentation includes, but is not limited to, reports of graduation rates, performance on state licensing examinations, and employment rates.”
Policy on notification of CAPTE regarding substantive change: “The department chairperson, or program’s designee, will promptly notify CAPTE of any expected or unexpected substantive change within the program. These changes may include, but are not limited to, change in program or college leadership, significant vacancy of faculty positions, change in institutional accreditation status, or withdrawal of the university’s legal status to provide post-secondary education.”
Policy on program compliance with CAPTE criteria: “Florida Gulf Coast University is committed to offering a physical therapy program which meets and exceeds the standards outlined in CAPTE accreditation criteria. Program faculty, and department, college and university administration are aware of the need for the program to be in compliance within two years of written notice of non-compliance and will do all that is necessary to remedy non-compliance. Actions taken to bring the program into compliance include, but are not limited to, hiring additional faculty/staff, securing consultant services, reorganizing faculty assignments, making changes to program policies and procedures, modifying curriculum, and/or securing additional resources.”
Complaint Procedure: A student can provide testimony or file a complaint with the agency responsible for accrediting physical therapy programs (CAPTE). Individuals wishing to make comments about a CAPTE accredited program should see the website: CAPTE - General Information
There are established procedures for filing a formal complaint about a CAPTE accredited program. If the nature of a concern may fall into the possibility of a formal complaint, the individual is urged to contact the Department of Accreditation to discuss the nature of the complaint and to determine what procedures should be taken to initiate the formal complaint process. Comments can be mailed to the American Physical Therapy Association, ATTN: Accreditation Department, 1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-1488; fax 703-684-7343 or emailed to accreditation@APTA.org.
The department procedure related to the handling of complaints addresses the process for complaints received from parties both internal and external to the university. Complaints about the program, the students, the staff or faculty related to the program, may be received by any faculty member. The party who has a complaint will be encouraged to address the person or persons that the complaint involves. If the party would like to bring the complaint beyond that point, the complaint can be given to the Department Chair in writing. If the complaint requires consideration of a policy, procedure or curricular change, the appropriate committee chair will be notified by the Department Chair. Complaints regarding the Department Chair are to be addressed with the Chair, and the Dean of the College of Health Professions as deemed necessary by the complainant.
