Application Information

The Respiratory Therapy program is offered on a full-time basis only. There is no provision for part-time study. Classes begin in the fall semester and run continuously for the following 22 months culminating in a May graduation. The Respiratory program admits students one time per year. If an applicant with the status of full admission does not enter the program, they have to re-apply for the following calendar year. 

The application process for the Respiratory Therapy Program is selective. The deadline for program application is July 15, however, late applications are considered until the class is full. A student who applies to the Respiratory Therapy Program must meet all of the following requirements:

1. Gain college admission. Apply Now
2. Be in good academic and financial standing.
3. Complete all prerequisite courses prior to entry into program. A grade of C or better is required in all prerequisite classes.
4. Attend all orientation meetings.
5. Submit Respiratory Program Application by July 15.
6. Following acceptance in the Respiratory program, students must have a clear background check and drug screen on file through the program approved databank-information will be provided at time of admission.

A student who applies for the Respiratory Therapy Program must have all of the following documents on file for consideration:

• Completed Respiratory Therapy Application with all supporting documents which
  includes unofficial transcripts

1. Apply and be accepted to NPC. 
2. All forms, documents and requirements complete.
3. Priority is given to applicants that have successfully completed all prerequisites the first time they enroll in the course.
4. For those applicants that have priority status, they will be ranked by their cumulative GPA on the following classes: College Algebra, Anatomy and Physiology I, Anatomy and Physiology II, General Chemistry or Chemistry for Non-majors, Microbiology, English Composition I, English Composition II, Introduction to Computing or Information systems, and Sociology or Psychology.

1. Full Admission
   • To gain full admission all forms must be fully completed and received by the Division of Nursing and Health Sciences.
   • Cumulative GPA on the ranked classes 3.0 or greater.
   • Full admission is offered starting at the highest ranked candidate and continues sequentially with the next highest ranked candidate until all available seats are filled.
   • If there are seats available after all full admission candidates have been ranked, the process continues with the alternate candidate pool.
   • Only applicants that have full admission and meet the program requirements can begin the respiratory therapy course work.
2. Alternate Admission
   • Applicants will be admitted with the status of alternate if they:
     • have not completed all required prerequisite courses but can complete the remaining prerequisites by the fall semester; or,
     • their GPA on ranked courses is less than 3.0 but greater than 2.75.
   • All other requirements must be met. Alternate admission does not guarantee full admission status will be granted.
   • Candidates with the alternate admission status will only be granted full admission if there are seats available and they meet all other admission requirements. Otherwise there status is changed to denied.
3. Denied Admission
   • Applicants that do not meet the requirements of full or alternate status will be denied admission.
   • Once full or alternate status has been granted, the program reserves the right to change the status to denied if any of the requirements are not completed or were obtained fraudulently.
4. Accept/Decline STATUS Admission
   • Once the applicant has been offered the status of full or alternate admission they can accept or decline their status.
5. Withdrawn Admission
   • This is an applicant initiated process. This allows the applicant to withdraw their application for the calendar year.

In compliance with the terms of contractual agreements with health care agencies which serve as clinical laboratory sites as well as accreditation, federal and/or state requirements, all Respiratory Therapy  Program students must present evidence of :

• Present evidence of required immunizations as required by the State of Arkansas clinical agencies; 
  
  • MMR (Measles, Mumps & Rubella) or titer
  • Tdap and Tetanus
  • Varicella Vaccine (2 shot series) or titer results
  • Hepatitis B series (3 shot series) or titer results
  • Flu Vaccine (obtained annually during the flu season)
  • Additional Vaccine/immunization as required based on current communicable disease(s)
• Present evidence of health insurance
• Present evidence of two-stepTuberculosis (TB) testing (annually)
• Maintain current certification in CPR for the professional rescuer (information will be provided)
• Current health data form from your PCP/APRN-form will be provided.
• You must successfully pass a Criminal Background Check and Drug Screen Process