Students in Whatcom Community College's PTA program must be able to meet these minimum standards (also called essential functions or skills), with or without reasonable accommodation, for successful completion of the program requirements. Students must be capable of meeting these skills requirements in a safe, reliable, and efficient manner. There are no substitutes for these essential skills. The applicant must also be able to perform these skills throughout the course of the program. The Essential Functions include skills in five areas:

1. Mobility and Psychomotor
2. Sensory
3. Communication
4. Behavioral and Psychosocial
5. Critical Thinking/Problem Solving

It is the policy of Whatcom Community College to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified students with a disability so they can meet these required standards, if requested by the student. Whether or not a requested accommodation is reasonable will be determined on an individual basis and will be provided if it does not fundamentally alter the nature of the program, impose undue hardship, expense or difficulty or is unduly disruptive to the educational process. Reasonable accommodation does not mean that students with disabilities will be exempt from certain tasks; it does mean that WCC will work with students with disabilities to determine whether there are ways the college can assist the student toward completion of the tasks.

For additional information, please review this detailed essential functions or skills list.

The on-campus PTA program is full-time, very demanding and requires significant study time. It is highly recommended that students admitted to the program limit their outside obligations, particularly work hours. The first four quarters average 18 hours per week in the classroom with an expectation that students work up to 20 hours per week outside of class on homework assignments. The final quarter is full-time clinical affiliations scheduled at 40 hours per week.

The online/hybrid PTA program also requires significant time, as well as having challenges specific to the on-line learning environment. Students should expect to spend 20 to 30 hours per week working on their courses in addition to the weekend labs.

Health care workers are required to have current CPR and First Aid certification, TB tests, measles vaccination and hepatitis immunization. Many students are also required to undergo drug screening and a national criminal history background check. Students are required to have these completed and current before entering their clinical experiences.

Uniforms are not necessary, although some clinics require a lab jacket for clinical experiences. The student is responsible for dressing according to each clinical site's dress code. Information regarding dress codes will be available before the first day of clinical placement. A name tag and a watch with a second hand are also required for each clinical experience.

1. Check out the Online Learning Best Practices page for information on what to expect and how online learning works.

2. Take the quick Online Readiness Assessment for online learning. 

3. Contact an academic advisor for more information on Whatcom Community College's PTA online/hybrid program. By phone at 360.383.3080 or by email at advise@whatcom.edu.

Applicants to the core PTA program are required to have first earned a minimum grade of C+ (2.3) in each of the courses noted below except courses marked "optional."

If you have earned a bachelor degree from an accredited college or university or you earned a transfer degree in Washington state, you may be able to use your degree as a whole to satisfy some individual general education prerequisites. Please consult an academic advisor to explore these options.

ENGL& 101 English composition I (5 credits)

BUS 100 Business math (5 credits)
or MATH& 107 Math in society (5 credits)
or another course designated as Computation (CP) on the Related Instruction list in the WCC catalog (5 credits)

PSYC& 100 General psychology (5 credits)
or SOC& 101 Introduction to sociology (5 credits)

Any BIOL, CHEM, or PHYS lab course (5 credits)

MA 101 Medical terminology I (2 credits)

BIOL& 241 Human anatomy and physiology 1 (5 credits)

Optional:
CMST& 101 Intro to communication (5 credits)
or CMST& 210 Interpersonal communication (5 credits)
or CMST& 220 Public speaking (5 credits)
or CMST& 230 Small group communication (5 credits)
The PTA program highly recommends taking one of these communication courses, but it is not required.

Optional:
BIOL& 242 Human anatomy and physiology II (5 credits)
The PTA program highly recommends taking A&P II, but it is not required.

Some of them, yes! Many prerequisites are offered through Whatcom Community College and other colleges outside of Washington state. Check with the an academic advisor at advise@whatcom.edu or 360-383-3080 to make sure a prerequisite course will transfer to the PTA program.

Find online courses available from WCC using the Class Search.