The recent difficulties that Life University is having with the CCE brought back some painful memories underscoring the truth in the saying that what we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history. Since many readers perhaps have little knowledge of history as it relates to the accreditation process, a little history lesson may be helpful.
When the ACA’s accrediting agency (CCE) received recognition by the federal government, it rendered the ICA’s accrediting agency impotent. All the ICA schools (the “straights,” including Sherman College) quickly applied to the CCE for accreditation. It was quickly made clear to those at Sherman that the CCE would not accept their non-diagnostic, non-therapeutic approach to the practice of chiropractic. Sherman withdrew from this process and decided to pursue establishing another accrediting agency. The other schools danced around the issue of diagnosis and basically acceded to the CCE. At that time ADIO Institute of Straight Chiropractic (later called Pennsylvania College of Straight Chiropractic) began and the two schools applied to a new accrediting agency called the Straight Chiropractic Academia Standards Association (SCASA). Later Southern California College of Chiropractic joined ADIO and Sherman as the third SCASA school. Many of the other schools, including Palmer, Life and Cleveland, had the opportunity to be accredited by SCASA but they chose to remain in the CCE fold, even when SCASA got recognition equal to CCE from the federal government. That recognition lasted only a relatively short time. The CCE put pressure on the Department of Education saying the chiropractic profession did not need two accrediting agencies, that they (the CCE) could accredit the schools named above. Here is the sad part, Life College actually testified on behalf of the CCE saying they were a straight school and they had no problem being accredited by the CCE so there was no need for two accrediting agencies. That was the nail in the coffin of SCASA. This was during the Reagan administration when there was a move to make government smaller and one less accrediting agency, while not a government agency, would reduce the workload of the Department of Education. SCASA lost its recognition, became defunct, and the schools had to scurry to try to meet CCE standards. The California school and Pennsylvania College could not incorporate the diagnostic procedures into their clinical curriculum quickly enough and were forced to close their doors. Sherman being larger and more affluent was able to make the changes even though those changes were not consistent with their professional mission and actually contradict that mission.
So here we are a few years later. The CCE is now saying that the education at Life College is inadequate to prepare the student to be a competent chiropractor. The school has been irreparably damaged financially, in enrollments and in reputation. Its Founder and President has been asked to resign. A year or so ago Life was the largest chiropractic college in this country and now its future is in doubt. We have coalitions forming to fight for the schools, we have lawsuits against the CCE and the talk of starting a new accrediting agency. Some of the people involved in these actions are the very ones who undermined the lawsuits and straight accrediting agency. Their defense at the time was that they could control the CCE. Now they know, even with a majority vote, the CCE is not a democratic organization. It is committed to therapeutic chiropractic and forcing all the schools to conform to its model. Now they want our help to fight the CCE when they were on the CCE’s side fighting us in the 80’s. They want us to help save their school when they helped destroy ours. They want to develop a new accrediting agency when we already had one and would still have it if it were not for them.
I must admit my first reaction is to tell them “I told you so” and to go pound sand. After all, they did not help us and, in fact, contributed to the demise of a school I put so much of my life into. I have some questions as to the abilities of some of the leaders of this effort. I have some real concerns as to the strength of their position (see other article). I wonder whether enough of our profession even cares about the future of chiropractic, especially when I see some of these same leaders watering down the chiropractic principle? But, on the other hand, what’s the alternative, allowing the CCE to destroy chiropractic as we know it? That’s the overriding issue. That is why we need to support the efforts that are appropriate in preventing the destruction of our beloved profession. V18n4