A three-person panel appointed by the president of the Council on Chiropractic Education voted Sunday to uphold the agency's earlier decision to revoke accreditation of Life's largest degree program.

The decision to reject Life's appeal came after a hearing among council and university officials, held at an undisclosed location.

Life's interim president, Michael Schmidt, vowed to keep the school open and said administrators would immediately apply to re-establish accreditation. It is unknown how long that process could take.

"Obviously, we are disappointed with the decision," Schmidt said in a prepared statement. "We hoped that our appeal would convince the panel to recommend re-accreditation." He asked students and faculty to remain faithful.

"The school will not close, period," he said.

In an earlier interview, Schmidt said the process of re-establishing accreditation could take between six months and two-and-a-half years. The length of time is unknown, partly because it's never happened before.

Life is the first chiropractic program in the nation to lose accreditation through the Council on Chiropractic Education, the only accrediting agency for chiropractic recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

A representative of the council could not be reached Sunday.

Life has about 1,300 chiropractic students, half the number it had before the chiropractic council voted June 10 to revoke accreditation of the program. The decision followed a 12-month probation. The agency cited academic deficiencies, including inadequate instruction in diagnosis and supervision of students in the public clinics.

The stunning blow triggered a series of rapid changes at the Marietta university, including the forced retirement of president and founder Sid Williams and a turnover in leadership on the 15-member board of trustees. Williams could not be reached Sunday night for comment.

The appeal panel could, by policy, only look at what had been done during the probationary period, not at changes that have taken place at Life since the June revocation, including new courses meant to strengthen compliance with accreditation standards.

Chiropractic council accreditation is required for graduates to obtain a license to practice in about 35 states, according to the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards. Some states will recognize the broader university accreditation, which remains in place through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. SACS will review the university again in December.

While about 600 students are pursuing bachelor's degrees at Life in business and science programs, tuition paid by chiropractic students -- $16,480 yearly -- accounts for 80 percent of university revenue.

Now that the program's accreditation is gone, the university's survival may depend on how many students remain until the university can restore its academic standing, say faculty and alumni. The university has already chopped $6 million from its $38 million operating budget.

Peter Scire, a student who left the school this semester because of the problems, said Sunday he wants to complete his education but will not do so until the university program has accreditation.

Scire is among 13 students who have sued the university and Williams for negligence in losing the accreditation. "We believed we were paying a tremendous amount of money for a graduate program," he said. "We expected a first-rate education. And as it turned out, we were getting a second-rate education. The pulling of accreditation only confirms the fact that we were getting a second-rate education."

Mike Hoefer, a physiology professor who has taken a lead role in contingency planning, said the university can restore its good standing and remain viable. But he wonders how many students will remain, and whether additional budget cuts can absorb another steep enrollment drop.

"If it takes two-and-a-half years, it could be very, very tough," he said.

Many students will remain, he predicted, because they have enough years to go before graduation, giving time for the school to be re-accredited. Others are committed to the university or the Atlanta region. "We're going to get our accreditation back," he said. "We're going to get our accreditation back, as long as we have enough students."