Mount Union’s Bold Tuition Move: A (Holiday) Miracle for #PhysicalTherapy Education?
Symbolic Gesture Needs To be Imitated
Well, folks, it’s not every day you see a university decide to reduce tuition — especially in a healthcare profession like physical therapy, where the cost of a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree has soared like a hot air balloon fueled by pure financial angst. But that’s exactly what just happened at Mount Union College. Yes, you read that correctly: they’re actually lowering the cost for PT students by 10% ostensibly to make it more affordable, but my guess is that this is likely driven by not being able to fill their seats. Cue the confetti and break out the eggnog, because this is rarer than spotting a unicorn in your backyard trimming the hedges.
As I’ve detailed in a previous Substack post, the cost of DPT education has been racing ahead of inflation, common sense, and probably the speed of light. It’s gotten so bad that many prospective PT students look at the price tag and say, “No thanks, I’ll find another vocation.” The stakes are high: Many healthcare professions face staggering shortages, and physical therapy is no exception. We need more PTs, period. But how do you convince brilliant, motivated, empathetic students to enter a profession that saddles them with six-figure debt and salaries that don’t keep up with their monthly loan payments?
As I’ve said before, “Lowering student tuition is the only driver to lower student debt, better education ROI, and to get applications back so that we can be assured of the best and brightest going into physical therapy and to address the significant shortage we have in the profession.” Bingo. Mount Union’s decision may be a small drop in the tuition ocean, but it’s a welcome start — and one that might inspire others to follow suit, particularly as more new programs struggle to get full allotment of students.
Let’s rewind for a moment to see how we got here: Physical therapy education has undergone a jaw-dropping evolution over the last century. In the 1930s, you could get into PT with around two years of schooling. By the 1960s, it jumped to four years (Bachelor’s). In the 1990s, it rose to six years (Master’s). And now, we’re typically looking at seven years to earn a DPT, assuming everything goes smoothly. That’s right — we went from a certificate to a bachelor’s to a master’s to a doctorate in about fifty years, and each upgrade came with an upgrade in tuition bills.
Sure, the profession’s body of knowledge expanded and the switch to a Master’s, then to a Doctorate, was influenced by a genuine drive to elevate the field. But let’s be real: Once PT school became super popular, many universities smelled an opportunity to add another year and rake in more tuition. The end result? A six-figure price tag that outpaced wage growth and put a serious dent in the profession’s once-superb return on investment. Student debt soared from a manageable $30k or so to a crushing $86k-plus, and it keeps climbing.
What’s the impact of all this on the workforce? Well, if we can’t attract enough top-tier candidates because the ROI has all the appeal of a week-old fruitcake, we create a vicious cycle. Fewer quality applicants leads to fewer graduates ready to meet the demand. Factor in the 15–20k physical therapists who never returned after COVID, and you’ve got a shortage that’s as subtle as a sledgehammer. With applications finally showing a small uptick from prior years, we have about 70% of applications betting accepted but there is a trend of schools not being able to fill the approximately 12k seats that are out there. The upside down supply/demand curve for those wanting to PT’s is hard to imagine given that years ago it was harder to get into PT school than most other health professions.
Meanwhile, other healthcare careers — like nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and pharmacy — offer more forgiving tuition-to-salary ratios and shorter paths to practice. Is it any wonder that some of the sharpest minds are looking elsewhere?
We need solutions, and a big one is making education more affordable. Let’s not kid ourselves: Universities don’t typically slash prices for the fun of it. Traditionally, schools made a fortune from graduate programs, and the DPT was no exception. Innovators tried strategies like accelerated, hybrid two-year models to cut costs and shorten the time to a paycheck. That’s progress, but it hasn’t sparked a widespread tuition rollback.
But what if we get even more creative? Imagine if we restructured the education model so that PT students could become licensed earlier — say halfway through their schooling — then spend their final stretch working as licensed professionals at a reduced capacity (like a resident), actually earning money instead of piling on debt. Clinics could bill for their services, making the student’s work financially viable. Students would graduate with less debt, more clinical readiness, and a resume that doesn’t require a decoder ring. Meanwhile, the profession’s pipeline would be more robust, and we could start closing that shortage gap.
We’re talking about a systematic change that requires accrediting bodies, licensing boards, and universities to lock arms and think differently. Yes, that might feel like herding cats who’ve overdosed on catnip, but the stakes are too high to maintain the status quo.
Mount Union’s recent move might just be the pebble that starts an avalanche. If more schools follow suit, lower tuition could re-energize interest in PT education, bring in students who’d otherwise opt for other careers, and restore the profession’s competitive edge. The solution is staring us in the face: lower the cost, improve the ROI, and let the best and brightest see physical therapy as a career where they can flourish without drowning in debt.
As we close out the year, let’s raise a toast (or a goniometer, if that’s more your style) to a future where physical therapy education is more affordable, accessible, and aligned with the needs of both students and patients. Because if a college cutting tuition doesn’t qualify as a minor holiday miracle, I’m not sure what does.
@physicaltherapy
And hey, if you’re enjoying this this post from All Things #Physical therapy, consider subscribing to my Substack and recommending and sharing, posting, tweeting to friends. For a treasure trove of past wisdom, check out EIM’s blog, where over 350 posts await your eager eyes.
Lastly, 100% of all proceeds from my book Called to Care: A Medical Provider’s Guide for Humanizing Healthcare goes to The Foundation for Physical Therapy Research
