The New Zealand School of Chiropractic (NZSC) in Auckland will be the hub for a group of six American chiropractic colleges to provide a public and private partnership to assist the chiropractic programs in New Zealand and other nations in the region. The participating schools are: Cleveland Chiropractic College (Kansas City, Missouri, and Los Angeles); Palmer College of Chiropractic (Davenport, Iowa, and San Jose, California); and Sherman College of Chiropractic (Spartanburg, South Carolina).
"The trustees welcome these exciting affiliation opportunities," said NZSC Board Chairman Noel Pierson. "This partnership provides for shared financial and human resources for program development, with efforts focused toward attracting chiropractic students from the United States, Australia and Pacific rim countries."
The New Zealand Chiropractors Association founded NZSC in 1994 in Auckland, the country's largest city and port, home to 1.3 million people. The school receives government funding, and is in the process of gaining accreditation through the Australian Joint Education Committee.
The school is comprised of approximately 60 students, with an average of 20 students per class.
The student body includes students from Canada, the U.S., South Africa, Korea, China, and Australia. There is a special "trans-Australian agreement" in place to allow chiropractic students from Australia to attend NZSC.
NZSC also has a clinic, and treats approximately 9,500 patients per year.
Robin Taylor,DC, a Palmer graduate and CEO of the NZSC, said that the students, faculty and administration "eagerly embrace" the affiliation, judging that it will result in greater development and strengthening of the the NZSC program.
The presidents of the participating U.S. colleges all commented:
"The school (NZSC) is positioned to emerge as a major influence for chiropractic education in the South Pacific region," noted Dr. Carl Cleveland III, head of the Cleveland colleges. "The New Zealand school fully subscribes to the chiropractic paradigm as developed by the Association of Chiropractic Colleges, and maintains a quality academic program that has internalized clinical competencies parallel to the standards of the U.S. Council on Chiropractic Education."
"Alumni from the affiliated colleges comprise a major influence in this part of the world," noted Palmer President Guy Riekeman,DC. "They will now have a convenient location to refer students for an education in line with their values and traditions."
"We look forward to a long and sustained working relationship with all of the colleges involved in this effort," said Sherman College President Jerry Hardee,PhD.
For more information on the New Zealand School of Chiropractic, call 64-9-522-5530 or email school@nzchiro.co.nz.
