Life: Give us 14 months MARIETTA ã Life University¼s chiropractic accreditation is 14 months away, Life¼s in 10/24/02 By Phillip Giltman Marietta Daily Journal Staff Writer MARIETTA ã Life University¼s chiropractic accreditation is 14 months away, Life¼s interim president Dr. Michael Schmidt said in an interview Wednesday. The Council on Chiropractic Education stripped the Marietta university of its chiropractic accreditation on June 10 and Sunday denied Life¼s appeal to lift the revocation. „Under official CCE guidelines, we can receive accreditation in December 2003,¾ he said. Despite the loss of more than 1,200 students since last fall, Schmidt said he was confident the school will persevere and remain economically viable during the accreditation process. He said he didn¼t regret appealing the CCE¼s decision back in June despite knowing that the CCE would not evaluate the changes made after Life lost its chiropractic accreditation. „My belief was that the appeal was strong enough on its merit, and that is what we felt would have been the quickest way to gain re- accreditation,¾ he said. „Obviously, the panel didn¼t agree with our assessment or they weren¼t satisfied with it for whatever reasons.¾ The CCE¼s monumental decision to strip Life of its chiropractic accreditation triggered the administration to make several executive changes, including the addition of three new board of trustees members and the forced resignation of Life¼s founder, Dr. Sid Williams, and his entire family. Schmidt said he didn¼t think immediately reapplying for accreditation instead of appealing the CCE¼s decision would have helped the chiropractic program receive its credentials any faster. „I don¼t know if just reapplying would have got our accreditation back any faster,¾ he said. „It may or may not have, but we cannot second guess ourselves.¾ According to CCE standards, chiropractic programs can only submit the required material for accreditation twice a year ‚ in May and October. Life officials say the necessary changes had not been instituted in time for the October deadline. Schmidt said the last three months and the entire appeal process has been very valuable in helping Life get back on track. „It was pretty chaotic when I first got here,¾ he said. „The chaos has died down since then, and we are moving in the right direction.¾ Schmidt is recommending that chiropractic students, even those getting ready to finish up their 14 required quarters, to be patient and stand beside their school. „I don¼t think they will gain anything by going to another school and doing another year there,¾ he said. Students who transfer to another school are generally required to take at least one year of classes before receiving a diploma from that institution. „I¼m just trying to assure them that we are committed to this because it¼s obvious what their sacrifices are and what their situation is,¾ he said. Over the last few weeks, more than a dozen students have filed lawsuits against Williams and Life University claiming both failed to take the necessary steps to maintain its chiropractic accreditation. Both Schmidt and Williams declined to comment Wednesday on the pending lawsuits. In June, the CCE said it stripped Life of its chiropractic accreditation for a variety of infractions including: failing to maintain a comprehensive and ongoing system of evaluation and planning; failing to establish instructional objectives; failing to demonstrate adequacy and stability of basic and clinical sciences, faculty and staff. Life saw its student enrollment drop about 1,200 students ã 38 percent ã from fall 2001 to this fall 2002 and is expecting winter enrollment to drop even further. Schmidt said he projects winter enrollment to be 200 less than the present 1,380 currently enrolled in the chiropractic program. Life spokesman Will Hurst said Monday Life has submitted a letter of application to the CCE and is waiting to see if the accrediting agency will accept them as an applicant, a process which should take about a month. „If they accept us as an applicant, we will then know what our timeline is, and we can continue with the application process,¾ he said. The CCE refused to comment on the application process and Life University Wednesday evening. To apply for accreditation, Life University must submit a self-study by May 1, 2003 providing clear evidence that the chiropractic program is in compliance with CCE standards. Once the self-study is evaluated, the CCE will send out a site team examining the program and assuring it adheres to the standards. Once all correspondence and visits are complete, the Council on Accreditation, at its December meeting, will meet with the institution either awarding accreditation, deferring the decision for a limited time or denying accreditation.