The Doctor of Physical Therapy program at Mary Baldwin University’s Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences has received full accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education, or CAPTE.
The notification comes after an intense, five-year process for the nascent program, and just before the first PT students graduate from MBU this month.
“It’s exciting that we received our accreditation status in time for the charter class of 2017 to come back for Commencement,” said Lisa Shoaf, director of the PT program at Murphy Deming, noting that third-year students have recently completed 16 weeks of clinical field work in preparation for graduation.
Shoaf also praised the faculty, staff, and university leadership that helped the program reach the accreditation milestone, the process for which began in summer 2012.
Since that time, the program was granted candidacy status in December 2013; admitted its first class of students in June 2014; submitted to CAPTE a final self study, chronicling the program’s progress; and finally, hosting a site visit last fall.
Mary Baldwin’s 175th Commencement exercises are scheduled for 10 a.m. May 22 at MBU’s main campus in Staunton. For the first time, the university will graduate doctoral students from Murphy Deming in physical therapy as well as occupational therapy. Murphy Deming will also see its first cohort of nurses graduate with a bachelor of science in nursing.
Mary Baldwin University, founded in 1842, is a small, coeducational university offering a range of degree programs from bachelor’s to doctoral. It serves a diverse student population on its main campus in Staunton, Virginia, at its nearby health sciences campus in Augusta County, online, and through regional advising centers throughout Virginia. All programs are coeducational except the Mary Baldwin College for Women. Throughout 2016–17, MBU is celebrating its 175th anniversary.
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