The Physical Therapy Learning Institute is proud to host the
2026 Disruptive Innovation in Physical Therapist Education Virtual Summit:
​“Rethinking Return on Investment, Access, Affordability,
and Abundance in DPT Education"
hosted on April 10-11, 2026
We would like to extend our sincere appreciation for the Summit Sponsors and their contributions. If you are interested in learning more about sponsoring the a future Summit download our Sponsorship Overview.
Gold Level Sponsor:
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Bronze Level Sponsor:
Summit Description:
The 2026 Disruptive Innovation in PT Education Summit convened academic leaders, private practice owners, educators, and clinicians to confront one of the most urgent issues facing physical therapy today: How do we ensure the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) remains a high-value, financially sustainable degree in the face of rising tuition, capped federal loans, and widening equity gaps?
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With new national data on student debt, demographic disparities, and workforce needs, this summit challenges institutions to rethink the economic model of physical therapist education. While many DPT graduates continue to realize a positive return on investment (ROI), the tipping point appears to be narrowing—particularly for students taking on debt exceeding $150,000, a threshold above which the economic power of the degree declines. For learners from minoritized racial and ethnic backgrounds, the debt burden is often greater, and their experiences within educational programs more tenuous.​
Keynote Presentations:
Michael D. Smith, PhD
The first of our two keynote speakers was Michael D. Smith, PhD. Dr. Smith is the J. Erik Jonsson Professor of Information Technology and Marketing at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College of Public Policy and Management and the author of The Abundant University: Remaking Higher Education for a Digital World. Dr. Smith believes our current system of higher education is financially and morally unsustainable and proposes the creative implementation of digital technologies for enrolling, instruction, and credentialing students as the solution. Smith challenges the resistance to digital technologies that we have already seen among numerous institutions, citing the examples of faculty resistance toward digital learning platforms. While acknowledging the understandable self-preservation instinct of our current system of residential education, Smith makes a case for how technology can engender greater educational opportunity and create changes that will benefit students, employers, and society as a whole.
The second of our keynote speakers was Todd Telemeco, PT, DPT, PhD. Dr. Telemeco was recently installed as the president of Mary Baldwin University. Dr. Telemeco most recently served as the Vice President for the Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences and has 20+ years of professional higher education experience including extensive experience as a clinician, private practice owner, faculty member, founding program director, dean, and vice president prior to his installation as a president. Dr. Telemeco will discuss both the challenges facing health professions education and university leadership as well as how he leverages the listening, analysis, and diagnosis he honed as a physical therapist and clinician in problem solving, decision making, and strategic planning.
Todd Telemeco,
PT, DPT, PhD
Key Themes & Topics:
How has scarcity shaped PT education, and how can we collectively imagine an abundant future for our profession? This session explores long-standing constraints such as fixed seat-time requirements, admissions practices, and limited entry pathways that reinforce exclusivity. We challenge educators, program directors, accreditors, and industry stakeholders to enact bold strategies that expand access to DPT Education, reimagine excellence, and align education with both economic realism and the needs of a diverse and evolving workforce. An example of how one university has embraced an abundance framework flips the conversation from "why?" to "why not?"
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2. Access and Equity in the Current Political Climate
This session examined how recent policy changes affect who can afford to enter the profession and how structural inequities in the educational environment disproportionately impact learners from underrepresented backgrounds. The focus of this session includes the impact of recent regulatory changes in financial aid on access and equity.​
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3. The True Cost and Value of a DPT Degree
During this session we analyzed several factors including tuition, opportunity costs, clinical requirements, and benchmarking data to understand where and why the financial return on investment (ROI) of the DPT is under pressure—and what can be done to improve it. We will explore opportunities to leverage the Physical Therapy Graduation Questionnaire (PT-GQTM) and other benchmarking data to align with accreditation standards, identify educational “signatures,” and target high-cost, low-value practices for reform.
Summit Format:
This virtual, online summit occurred April 10-11, 2026 (see detailed agenda below). Attendance was limited to 200 attendees representing a wide variety of interested parties in physical therapist education including educators from entry-level education programs, clinical educators, and educators from residency/fellowship programs as well as clinicians, practice owners/managers, accreditors, and university leaders. Over the course of the summit, there were 2 keynote addresses and three sessions which included a presentation followed by small group and general conversation around the application of the theme of the Summit across the continuum of physical therapist education (i.e.,entry-level/didactic education, clinical education, and residency/fellowship/continuing professional development). This was be followed by a general summary session to create action plans for innovation in our own environments.​​
Registration:
The Summit presentations were recorded and are currently being prepared for access. Those who registered for the event will receive access to the recordings once they are available. If you did not register and would still like access, the following option is available:
- Post Meeting Electronic Access: $25 - electronic access to recordings and meeting materials after the event only.*
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*Recordings will be the presentations only and not the discussions.​
Summit Agenda:.
The agenda below outlines the sessions that took place during the Summit. To learn more about the speakers, click on their name below:
Friday, April 10, 2026 (all times Eastern Time Zone):
4:00p-4:15p:
Welcome from PTLI President, Jennifer Green-Wilson; Summit Overview & Ground Rules (Karen Abraham); Introduction of Keynote Speakers (Greg Hartley)
4:15p-4:45p:
4:45p-5:15p:
Open Forum/Q&A with Dr. Smith
5:15p-5:45p:
5:45p-6:15p:
Open Forum/Q&A with Dr. Telemeco
6:15p-6:30p:
Preview of Tomorrow’s Agenda/Format (Summit Planning Committee)
Saturday, April 11, 2026 (all times Eastern Time Zone):
11:00a-1:00p:
Mary Blackinton, PT, EdD, GCS (Emeritus) and Kendra Gagnon, MPT, PhD
Dave Schankweiler, Interim President, and Tonya Miller, PT, DPT, PhD​
1:00p-1:30p:
Break
1:30p-2:50p:
Topic 2: Access and Equity in the Current Political Climate
2:50p-3:00p:
Break
3:00p-4:30p:
4:30p-4:40p:
Break
4:40p-5:30p:
Group Comments/Reflection Closing Remarks, and Program Evaluation
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Readings, References, & Resources:.
Participants were encouraged to read or review the shared articles for the Summit. The articles can be reviewed in this Google Folder.