February 12, 2003	  	 
   

After surprise ruling, Life critics oddly quiet

MARIETTA ã As students, faculty and staff celebrated a judge¼s 
decision to restore Life U 
02/12/03

By Phillip Giltman
Marietta Daily Journal Staff Writer
 
MARIETTA ã As students, faculty and staff celebrated a judge¼s 
decision to restore Life University¼s chiropractic accreditation, Life¼s 
critics were conspicuously silent Tuesday.
Dr. J.C. Smith, an outspoken critic of the school, said he was 
stunned by Monday¼s ruling.
„The judge dropped a bomb,¾ he said.
After a five-hour hearing Monday, 11th Circuit U.S. District Judge 
Charles Moye Jr. granted Life an injunction, immediately placing the 
school¼s chiropractic program back to its pre-June probationary 
status.
„The injunction is the first piece of good news the school has 
received in the last two years,¾ Paul Lapides, director of Kennesaw 
State University¼s corporate governance center and a former Life 
employee, said.
„(Moye¼s) ruling will now set a precedent for all schools because it 
shifts the balance of power from the accrediting agency to the 
school.¾
The Council on Chiropractic Education stripped Life of its chiropractic 
accreditation in June. Life witnessed its student enrollment plummet 
after the decision. Monday¼s ruling invalidates the revocation ‚ at 
least until the outcome of the lawsuit Life filed against the CCE.
Moye ordered the two parties to work together to resolve the 
dispute out of court.
„I don¼t think Life can get monetary damages from the CCE because 
it would bankrupt the accrediting agency, and I don¼t feel the court 
will be able to find that the CCE discriminated against them,¾ 
Lapides said.
Some have speculated that the CCE targeted the university unfairly 
because of its size and its conservative approach to chiropractic 
education.
Life was once the world¼s largest chiropractic school with a student 
enrollment exceeding 3,200. 
The school adheres to a more conservative approach to chiropractic 
education by emphasizing that chiropractic care should be limited to 
the traditional diagnosis and adjustment of displacements of spinal 
segments or other musculoskeletal structures.
Life spokesman Will Hurst said the CCE did what they felt was right, 
and Life officials have found no fault in their decision.
„We just basically disagreed with the way they interpreted their 
standards,¾ he said.
The CCE cited a variety of infractions in its decision to revoke 
accreditation including failure to maintain a comprehensive and 
ongoing system of evaluation and planning and neglecting to 
demonstrate adequacy and stability of basic and clinic sciences.
After a three-member panel from the CCE refused to lift the 
revocation last October, the CCE notified the school that they could 
not apply for re-accrditation until June 2004 with the hopes of being 
accredited by January 2005.
Alleging the CCE acted unfairly in its decision to strip the institution 
of its chiropractic accreditation and failed to give the school a 
reasonable timeline in which to reapply for its credentials, Life 
decided last December to file a lawsuit against the Arizona-based 
accrediting agency.
Moye said the CCE¼s actions against Life were not in the best 
interests of the public good, it caused the school irreparable harm 
and there was a substantial chance that Life¼s evidence would 
persuade a jury.
Hurst said he expects the CCE to appeal Moye¼s decision.
CCE officials refused to comment Tuesday afternoon.
DeSpain said Monday that lawyers have been instructed to prepare 
for a trial within the next four months.
Moye, who will be issuing a written ruling today, ordered CCE 
officials to meet with Life to work on a settlement before the case 
goes to trial, court officials said.
Hurst said Life¼s primary goal now is to answer two questions for 
students who have „suspended¾ their education at Life.
„When can they come back, and what is the process for Life 
students interested in coming back who have enrolled in other 
chiropractic schools,¾ Hurst said. „All of our attention now has been 
making sure we provide accurate information to those two special 
groups of students.¾
Monday¼s ruling also casts doubts on class-action lawsuits filed by 
over 500 students seeking more than $100 million in damages. The 
students claim Life and its founder, Dr. Sid Williams, did not do 
enough to maintain its chiropractic accreditation.
Chiropractic enrollment at the university has dropped to 493 
students.
Dr. Tim Langley, Life¼s new dean of admissions, said phones have 
been ringing off the hook Tuesday from students interested in 
applying or going back to Life University.
„Phone calls have been unusually high,¾ he said. „We also plan on 
stepping up our recruiting efforts, but we are not going to do the 
types of things that were done to us.¾
Admissions officials from remote chiropractic colleges came to Life to 
recruit students while the school was wading through its 
accreditation problems.
„We are not going to other campuses to try and rob their students 
as other chiropractic schools did to us,¾ he said. „That, we felt, was 
inappropriate.¾
Moye¼s decision allows recent Life graduates to receive accredited 
diplomas. Most states would not allow chiropractors to practice 
without diplomas from accredited schools.
pgiltman@mdjonline.com