UST’S Occupational Therapy program has obtained “partial” accreditation from the Occupational Therapy Association of the Philippines (Otap), Dean Jocelyn Agcaoili of the College of Rehabilitation Sciences (CRS) said.
Otap conducted an ocular inspection of CRS last March 16 and April 17, and based on its initial findings, UST has yet to meet some requirements.
“There are some things that [Otap] wants to see. [One of them] is instruction or teaching,” Agcaoili said.
Otap president Arscille Gozon said the program would be evaluated next semester, but refused to go into details, citing confidentiality.
“[The criteria] are not yet completed, there are other requirements that we still need to see,” she said in a phone interview.
Agcaoili said she was hopeful UST would finally be accredited before the end of the year.
Otap’s nod is needed for UST to be able to qualify for accreditation with the World Federation of Occupational Therapists, paving the way for the employment of Thomasian graduates abroad.
It has been six years since UST submitted its application for accreditation to Otap in 2003. Otap had said that the lack of manpower caused the delay in the accreditation process.
