Acceptance Requirements

Physical Therapist Assistant Enrollment Procedures

Application Requirements: School of Nursing and School of Health Sciences Entrance Exam, Background Check, and Programmatic Interview. Once these are met, an acceptance letter will be issued. Once acceptance is issued the Enrollment Agreement can be signed, it must be on file at the University on or before the start date of the program. The Online Experiential Orientation is considered an enrollment requirement and must be met to continue through the first quarter of enrollment. To continue in the program into subsequent quarters, the programmatic Orientation must be completed prior to the last day of the first quarter of enrollment or reentry in the program.

The University will notify each applicant in writing of acceptance or rejection based on fulfillment of the following requirements:

• Completed application and enrollment agreement
• High School Attestation and Acceptable Documentation Proving High School Graduation or Equivalency: At any time during the enrollment process or while a student is enrolled in a program at Rasmussen University, the applicant or student may be required to provide additional evidence of high school graduation or its equivalency upon request. In general, the request for additional information will require the submission of a transcript (preferred) or a diploma identifying the student, the institution and the date of graduation or evidence of completing one of the equivalents identified below. Students enrolling through a Florida campus are required to provide an official transcript or a high school diploma. The University, at its sole discretion, will determine the validity and applicability of the documents presented. Failure to provide required documentation may result in a denial of admission or an administrative withdrawal or dismissal from the University.

Rasmussen University follows the guidelines of the U.S. Department of Education in recognizing alternative equivalents to a high school diploma:

• a GED certificate;
• a certificate or other official completion documentation demonstrating that the student has passed a state-authorized examination (such as the Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC), the High School Equivalency Test (HiSET), or, in California, the California High School Proficiency Exam) that the state recognizes as the equivalent of a high school diploma (certificates of attendance and/or completion are not included in this qualifying category);
• for homeschooled students, a copy of a secondary school completion credential for homeschool other than a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent if state law requires homeschooled students to get that credential. If it is not required, a transcript or the equivalent signed by the parent or guardian that lists the secondary school courses the student completed and documents the successful completion of a secondary school education in a homeschool setting;
• an associate’s degree;
• passing grades in at least 60 semester or trimester credits or 72 quarter credits that does not result in the awarding of an associate’s degree, but that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s degree at any institution; or
• enrollment in a bachelor’s degree program where at least 60 semester or trimester credits or 72 quarter credits have been successfully completed, including credits transferred into the bachelor’s degree program.

• Graduates of high schools outside of the United States must provide evidence of an equivalency to U.S. secondary education standards. Applicants must provide appropriate documentation as identified by the Ministry of Education in the country where the secondary education was completed along with the standard attestation. The transcript/diploma needs to be evaluated by an academic credential evaluation agency to indicate the student’s education level equivalent to U.S. secondary education standards and should be transcribed into English. Approved member evaluators can be found at naces.org or aice-eval.org. The applicant is responsible for the cost of the evaluation. In the rare circumstance where it is impossible for a refugee, an asylee, or a victim of human trafficking to obtain documentation of a secondary school education in a foreign country, the applicant will work with their Admissions Representative to identify alternative submissions in compliance with U.S. Department of Education guidelines.
• When enrollment requires the verification of a degree, in addition to using an approved NACES or AICE member, the applicant may also choose to have their degree verified by Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG.org) or NAFSA: Association of International Educators (NAFSA.org). The applicant is responsible for the cost of the evaluation. NOTE: Only NACES and AICE are approved evaluators for the purpose of assessing completed coursework for transfer of credit.
• Rasmussen University only accepts official and unofficial transcripts as well as grade reports for courses completed at accredited institutions of higher learning as recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), and courses that are recommended by the American Council for Education (ACE) or the National College Credit Recommendation Service (NCCRS).
• Placement Assessment. See Placement Assessment section.
• Successful completion of a non-cognitive assessment, Rasmussen Ready Success component of the placement assessment. All prospective students of Rasmussen University, except as noted below, must successfully complete the assessment no later than three business days prior to the start of the term.

The following are exempt from the non-cognitive assessment requirement: Applicants who have previously completed the assessment as part of an entrance requirement into Rasmussen University; applicants entering into a program requiring completion of at least 60 eligible quarter credits to enroll; Nursing, Law Enforcement, Medical Laboratory Technician, Physical Therapist Assistant, Radiologic Technology, and Surgical Technologist programs, as well as Individual Progress and Audit applicants. Applicants to the Healthcare Certificate, Healthcare Associate’s-Healthcare Administration specialization or Health Sciences Associate’s-Healthcare specialization programs who have achieved a HESI® Cumulative Score of 55% or higher or a TEAS Total Score of 48.5% or higher within the past five years of the program start date are also exempt from the non-cognitive assessment.

• Experiential Online Orientation. See Experiential Online Orientation section.
• All financial arrangements are complete, submitted, and verified. See Payment of Tuition and Fees section.
• For selected programs, applicants must also pass a criminal background check. See the Background Checks Policy and the program page for additional information.
• In addition to all general Rasmussen University admissions requirements, individuals applying for admission to select programs must also satisfy program-specific admissions requirements. Programs with program-specific admissions requirements include Health Information Management, Law Enforcement, Medical Laboratory Technician, Paralegal Certificate, Physical Therapist Assistant, Radiologic Technology, Surgical Technologist, and School of Nursing programs. See the admissions policies for these programs under Academic Information and University Policies.
• In addition to all other admissions requirements, students must be at least 16 years old to enroll at Rasmussen University.

The University reserves the right to reject any applicant on the good faith belief that the applicant is seeking to enroll for any reason other than to obtain an educational degree or credential, or if the University determines that admission of the applicant would create a potential danger or disruption to the University or its existing students, staff, and faculty. In the event of rejection, any monies paid will be refunded in full. The date of acceptance by the University shall be presumed to be the date of delivery of the notice of acceptance; and if delivered by mail, the postmarked date of the letter of acceptance or if delivered electronically, the date the email was sent.