MARIETTA, GA - A three-member panel from the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) has rejected Life University College of Chiropractic's appeal to overturn its June 10, 2002 decision to revoke the school's national accreditation for its chiropractic program. The decision, thought by many to be a foregone conclusion, came after a Sunday, Oct. 20 meeting between representatives of the CCE's Commission on Accreditation (COA), and Life University officials.
The CCE released a terse statement about its decision on its website (www.cce-usa.org):
"The CCE Appeal panel has announced it's (sic) ruling in the matter, and has upheld the decision of the COA. This ruling means that, as of October 20, 2002, LUCC has no form of accredited status with CCE. (Emphasis theirs.)
The CCE is recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as the accrediting agency for the doctor of chiropractic program; accreditation status is awarded by the CCE's Commission on Accreditation.
"Obviously, we are disappointed with the decision," said Dr. Michael Schmidt, interim president of Life University. "We hoped that our appeal would convince the panel to recommend reaccreditation."
The original denial of accreditation was based on inadequacies in the curriculum, specifically in diagnostic instruction, and in the supervision of students in the school's public clinics.
While Mr. Schmidt vowed to keep the school open, and said the school would "immediately reapply for accreditation," the CCE's decision is a stake in Life's heart. Since the revocation of accreditation in June 2002, the student body has shrunk from approximately 2,600 chiropractic students to about half that number. Because Life retained accreditation during the appeal period, some students took the optimistic "wait-and-see" high road, hoping that the appeal would be successful.
"Life University will survive and (we) will continue our efforts to provide an excellent education to our students," predicted Dr. Charles Ribley, chairman of Life's Board of Trustees. "We are committed to take all steps necessary to attain accredited status for the chiropractic program," he added.
How that will be accomplished, or how long it might take, is anyone's guess. Mr. Schmidt offered estimates anywhere from six months to two-and-a-half years.
"The school will not close, period," Mr. Schmidt averred. "We ask students, faculty, staff and friends of Life University to remain faithful and supportive of our efforts to restore this great institution."
Some Life University chiropractic students and former students are less sanguine about the school's future. Attorney Cary King has filed two civil suits in Cobb County Superior Court; one on behalf of five plaintiffs (Peter Scire, et al., v Life University and Sid Williams), the other on behalf of eight students. Scire told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Life students "expected a first-rate education," but "we were getting a second-rate education."
Even Life's regional accreditation through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is in jeopardy. Instead of renewing Life's accreditation for a 10-year period, a common practice of the SACS, it proffered Life a "warning citation" in December 2001, and issued only a one-year extension on its accreditation.
Life at Life is bleak. It's difficult to imagine any students willing to remain in such a precarious situation.
