[ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 6/12/02 ]
Life University students fearful of future 
By MARY MacDONALD 
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer 
Hundreds of angry and worried students crowded Life University's gymnasium 
Tuesday demanding answers and assurances. 
Andy Sharp / AJC Life University student Scott Evans attended a meeting with administrators 
at which the chiropractic program's loss of accreditation was discussed. 


Has their investment of time and money in a chiropractic education been for 
nothing? As student Christy Swofford asked, "Are we going to be left hanging?"
The 200 or so would-be chiropractors got few answers during the 30-minute 
meeting with administrators, partly because university leaders admit they did 
not anticipate the loss of accreditation of the chiropractic program. 
And their attempts at reassurance rang hollow to many of the students. 
"Give it to me in writing, and then I'll feel positive," Swofford said later. "I just 
want to be taken care of."
The tense day on campus followed the announcement Monday that 
accreditation had been revoked by the national Council on Chiropractic 
Education.
Stakes are high, for the students and the institution.
For students, the loss of accreditation could be devastating. Many have moved 
to metro Atlanta to attend Life University, which has the largest chiropractic 
program in the nation. 
Students need to graduate from an accredited program to take the national 
exams that are required for a chiropractic license. With tuition at nearly $58,000 
for the 3 1/2-year program, many graduate in debt.
And if the university no longer can offer an accredited program, it won't be able 
to attract students because they will not be able to practice their chosen 
profession, said former faculty members and graduates.
The stunning blow to Life reverberated quickly among chiropractors.
"If I were a student up there, I'd be sick," said chiropractor John Dull, the 
Georgia delegate to the American Chiropractic Association. 
On Tuesday, many students were visibly distraught during and after the 
meeting with administrators, as they gathered in smaller groups to talk about 
their options.
They wanted to know how Life lost the vital accreditation of its chiropractic 
program despite a year's warning. And they questioned whether the 
administration could promise that accreditation would be restored, after a year 
of assurances that it wouldn't be revoked in the first place.
Life president and founder Sid Williams did not meet with the students. He was 
speaking to faculty and staff in a separate assembly. He planned to speak to all 
students Thursday in a campus meeting.
On Tuesday, Mamie Ware, the university's vice president for academic affairs, 
sought to reassure students that the university would do all it could to protect 
their interests. 
"We are totally committed," Ware said. "It's going to be taken care of. I can 
assure you of that."
The university planned to appeal the decision of the Council on Chiropractic 
Education, which accredits all chiropractic programs in the nation. Accreditation 
will continue until the appeal process is completed.
The appeal could cover students through the end of September or October, 
said Paul Walker, executive director of the accrediting agency, which is based 
in Arizona.
Ware raised the possibility of a lawsuit, which, she told students, also could 
offer protection for graduates.
The accreditation council offered no such assurance. "Our extension of 
accreditation during the appeal process only applies to our appeal process," 
Walker said. "It does not address anything other than that."
Regardless, the promise by the university to fight the decision wasn't enough 
for many students.
"Is there a contingency plan?" asked Swofford, a student from St. Augustine, 
Fla., who is to graduate in late September. She cited the yearlong probation, 
during which university administrators said they were working to correct the 
deficiencies cited last year by the council.
"It's been a whole year," she said. "How come they haven't been addressed?"
Another student stood in the bleachers and said he was tired of hearing about 
promises: "I don't want to hear 'hope' from you. I want to hear 'definitely.' "
University officials planned to announce today they would try to meet with the 
accrediting agency to resolve the problems without filing a lawsuit.
Ware told students the accrediting agency had cited four reasons for the 
revocation, but said they were not the same problems it had cited earlier.
The accrediting council named as deficiencies the program's assessment and 
planning, curriculum objectives, faculty and staff ratios, and clinical 
competencies, Ware said.
The agency earlier had cited three other areas, she said, which the university 
thought it had corrected. She did not specify them.
But a former top administrator and students who have seen the agency's report 
said it included criticism of diagnostic instruction and faculty oversight in the 
university's labs and clinics.
The revocation of accreditation took the administration by surprise, Ware said. 
But the university will restore its standing, she vowed.
"It is Dr. Williams' goal," she said, "to work, to do whatever necessary, to re-
establish our accreditation."
As students left the noon forum, some made their way to final exams while 
others gathered in small groups.
Several students said transferring to another chiropractic program was harder 
than it might seem. The nation has only a dozen or so chiropractic schools, and 
a transfer probably would add another year or more to their education.
Daniel Cocks, a student from Maryland who is halfway through the program, 
said he felt he had little choice but to stick with the university. He supports Life's 
teaching and approach to chiropractic but wishes he had a guarantee.
"I'm concerned what my status is going to be, about graduating in 2003 and not 
being able to practice," he said.