South College seeks to make available all online programs/courses to residents of Tennessee and other states, and to allow completion of required clinical or practical experiences in those states. We work through the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) process and with states directly to ensure that when authorization or licensure is necessary, required approvals are secured (such as California where South College is approved as an Out-Of-State Registered Institution). Tennessee is a member of SARA and South College is an approved SARA institution. As such, we adhere to a set of national standards for interstate offering of post-secondary distance education courses and programs. SARA also covers all interstate placements in clinical or practical situations among SARA member states, no matter the nature of the main program. All states are SARA members except for California. While we do monitor the laws in each state, authorization of distance education is a dynamic environment and prospective students should check this site often for updates. It is the student’s responsibility to understand current circumstances or special requirements in their state of residence. Please review the document available here for current information for authorization information.

Licensure as a Physical Therapist is regulated by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy while individual states are typically overseen by a State Board of Physical Therapy.  All 50 states require graduation from a CAPTE accredited program as well as passing the NPTE in order to obtain a license and practice as a Physical Therapist.  The South College DPT program is a CAPTE accredited program which aims to prepare graduates to sit for the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE).  Some states have unique licensure requirements. For example, a jurisprudence exam is required in some states to test the graduate’s knowledge of state laws, rules, and practice acts that govern physical therapy practice. Some require satisfactory background checks.  These unique requirements are not associated with preparation in the South College program.  The following link provides contact information for individual state licensing authorities: https://www.fsbpt.org/FreeResources/LicensingAuthoritiesContactInformation.aspx