Life U accreditation hearing on Sunday
Panel holds chiropractic program's future
Mary MacDonald - Staff
Saturday, October 19, 2002
 

Life University already has lost its stature as the nation's largest chiropractic school. On Sunday, the university may lose something more critical to its survival --- its ability to confer worthwhile degrees.

A university delegation will try to convince a three-person panel Sunday that chiropractic accreditation should be restored, the only action that may reverse plummeting enrollment and renew student confidence in its future.

After months of uncertainty, students and faculty at the Marietta university are prepared for any decision but say they need to know what the future holds.

The appeal hearing is before a panel appointed by the Council on Chiropractic Education, which revoked accreditation of the university's largest degree program in June.

A decision could follow at any time, and the outcome could determine whether Life University survives. The school has kept the accreditation of its program temporarily only through this appeal.

The chiropractic school has already lost half of its students. If the appeal is rejected and accreditation pulled, so many more students could leave that the university might not survive, said Mike Hoefer, a physiology professor who has taken an active role in contingency planning.

Despite dramatic budget cuts, Life remains dependent on chiropractic students, whose tuition is 80 percent of university revenue. "If we lose our accreditation, it could kill us," Hoefer said.

If the panel agrees with the university, which already has submitted its arguments in writing, the decision would be sent back to the accrediting council for reconsideration.

If the appeal is denied, interim President Michael Schmidt has already said the university will immediately apply to restore its standing. But that from-scratch process could take between six months and two-and-a-half years, he has said. Schmidt declined a request for an interview this week.

Accreditation is vital because it is required for graduates to obtain a license to practice in at least 35 states. Some states will recognize a regional accrediting agency, according to the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards.

Any significant lapse in accreditation could force the hands of students such as Nesly Clerge, who moved from his home in Maryland to pursue a common ambition, opening his own chiropractic clinic. Clerge has every reason to stay at Life. He is engaged to be married in May. He has a mortgage on a condo that he purchased less than two years ago.

But if the university loses, Clerge said, he will probably leave. He already has been accepted as a transfer student at a competing chiropractic school in Missouri. "I never thought it would get this far," Clerge said.

Faculty and students say they hope the chiropractic council considers the changes that have taken place at Life --- including the resignation of founder Sid Williams and a turnover in leadership among the board of trustees and course changes made to comply with standards.

But the appeal process could prevent the panel from looking at recent changes. The panel only can consider the steps taken up to the loss of accreditation, said Paul Walker, the CCE's executive vice president.

Chiropractic enrollment had declined at the university for years but plummeted when the chiropractic council revoked the program accreditation. The program now has 1,300 students, about 300 fewer than its chief competitor, Palmer College of Chiropractic in Iowa.

But four months after the upheaval began, many remaining students say pragmatism has replaced their initial anger and fear.

Bryan Choong, a new student who plans to begin the chiropractic program next semester, moved to Georgia from Singapore fully aware of the accreditation troubles. He was reassured by the success of Life graduates, but will transfer if necessary. "It's a gamble," he said. "But more pros than cons