Massage Therapy Program Change

There are changes being proposed for the Harper College Massage Therapy Program (MTP) that, if approved, will be in place for classes in August, 2024 and beyond will be detailed in the 2024-25 Harper College Catalog.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The program changes described below are subject to change as the curriculum goes through the approval processes of the college, the state board and our programmatic accreditor, the Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation.

What will the program look like after these changes?

The plan for the revised program is to be 24 college credits which translates to 600-clock hours of training. This is to match the number of training hours required by the IL Massage Therapy Licensure Law.

What will the program cost after these changes take effect?

Using the in-district tuition and fees in place as of Summer 2023, the tuition cost will be $3252 ($135.50 in-district tuition rate x 24 credits). When course fees, supplies, textbooks, etc are added in, the estimated total cost for the entire program will be roughly $5200. If tuition, fees, textbooks or supplies costs are increased, this cost estimate would also rise.

Why is this change being made?

The US Department of Education under the Biden/Harris administration announced a rule change in October 2023 that takes effect July 1, 2024. The rule change says that to remain eligible to offer students federal financial aid, for programs, such as Massage Therapy schools, where graduates must apply for a state license to be allowed to work and where that license is based on a minimum number of training hours, the program's length cannot be a single hour over the state's minimum training requirement. So as an example, to qualify for a state massage therapy license in IL, a graduate must have a minimum of 600 hours of training. This means our program must be exactly 600 hours in length. We are working to change our program to align with that requirement so we can continue to offer our students the ability to apply for financial aid through the federal FAFSA program. Students who start the program after the rule's effective date must be in the new program.

Any questions about the program can be directed to the Program Coordinator, Jeremy Miller at jmiller4@harpercollege.edu or 847-925-6076.