[ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 6/25/03 ]
Deal lets Life U retain accreditation 
By MARY MacDONALD and SAEED AHMED

Life University announced Tuesday that it has reached an agreement with a 
council overseeing chiropractic education that will allow the Marietta school to 
keep its good standing for the next several years. The agreement with the 
Arizona-based Council on Chiropractic Education should allow the university to 
more aggressively recruit students to its chiropractic and undergraduate 
programs, said President Ben DeSpain.

The school will retain its accreditation while it undergoes a new review process 
with the chiropractic agency that should be complete by January 2005, he said.
Life had sued the accrediting council in federal court in Atlanta after the agency 
revoked its accreditation, triggering an exodus of students that threatened the 
viability of the university. A U.S. District Court judge later restored the 
accreditation, pending the outcome of the lawsuit. The council appealed the 
decision. DeSpain would not disclose details of the settlement reached with 
the accrediting council late Tuesday.

A representative of the council could not be reached for comment. The Marietta 
school, once the largest chiropractic school in the country, saw its enrollment 
drop dramatically after it initially lost its accreditation one year ago. Life now has 
about 1,200 students, far below its 1995 peak of more than 4,000.
DeSpain said students should be reassured by news of the settlement, but 
should not expect a return of some former Life staples, including a widespread 
athletics program. The athletics program was killed last summer in a budget-
cutting move. "We have no plans at this point to bring back any sports 
programs," DeSpain said. "Our concentration will be on the chiropractic 
program."

Few students had heard news of the settlement Tuesday night. Those who did 
reacted with relief but said the decision was not unexpected. "I kind of knew it 
would go in this direction eventually," said Dawn Hazzard, who expects to 
graduate from the school in 2005. "All institutions -- be it universities, colleges 
or high schools -- have their problems. I knew in my heart the school would be 
able to weather this."

Life's accreditation crisis began a year ago, when the chiropractic council 
yanked accreditation of its largest degree program, doctor of chiropractic, citing 
deficiencies in academics and management. Among other problems, the 
council cited insufficient oversight of students in the public chiropractic clinics.
The university appealed the decision, but lost on Oct. 20, 2002. That decision 
triggered an exodus of more than 2,000 students, and the loss of tuition 
revenue threatened the school's continued operation. Without program 
accreditation, graduates of chiropractic schools cannot be licensed to practice 
in most states. After learning it would take at least two years to restore its 
credentials, the university sued the accrediting agency in January, seeking 
more than $100 million in damages. On June 15, the school graduated 300 
students, its first full graduating class since the accreditation and budget woes 
began last year.