Classes for the new Idaho Physical Therapist Assistant Consortium Program will start Spring Semester 2014 at North Idaho College.

The program, which will use video conferencing in addition to clinical labwork, will be offered at four Idaho colleges. Most of the lecture material will be presented by NIC Physical Therapist Assistant Program director and instructor Rick Daigle. The interactive feature of the videoteleconferencing will allow students from each of the schools to participate in the lectures as a larger group.

The other three participating institutions are Lewis-Clark State College (Lewiston), College of Southern Idaho (Twin Falls) and College of Western Idaho (Nampa).

"Each campus will have their own PT assistant lab and we will be communicating weekly with each other to make sure we're all teaching the same material in the labs," said interim program director Rand Edwards.

Clinical experiences will also be integrated throughout the curriculum to ensure students receive the opportunity to practice the techniques they have learned in class.

"Even though we are not currently accredited, we are on track for accreditation," said Edwards. "The earliest we can be accredited will be in November of 2015. There's a whole schedule we're required to follow that's generated by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education. Accreditation is a two-year process."

The January incoming class of 10 students at NIC will graduate December of 2015.

New classes will be accepted in the two-year program starting Spring Semester each year.

According to Occupational Employment Statistics, Idaho's job market for physical therapist assistants will grow more than 27 percent in the next decade.

Information: www.nic.edu/programs/viewprogram.aspx?landing=118.