Physiological therapeutics requirement tabled, bylaw changes for accreditation, new fee structure
By Deborah Pogrelis, D.C.
On Jan. 11, following two years of consideration and investigation, the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) Board of Directors voted in its semi-annual business meeting in Scottsdale, Ariz., to table the proposal recommending physiological therapeutics be included in the required curricular offerings in accredited Doctor of Chiropractic Degree Programs. Dr. Charles Sawyer, chair of the study committee formed in a year ago, told the CCE Board of Directors in the work session held Jan. 10 that the committee recommended physiological therapeutics be added to the required curricular content in the Standards of the Council on Chiropractic Education effective January 2004.
In his report, Sawyer, senior vice president of Northwestern Health Sciences University, told the CCE board that the committee recommendation addressed the presentation of principles of physiologic therapeutics in the classroom, but did not include a mandate requiring hands-on instruction in the application of therapeutic modalities or the use of physiologic therapeutics in the teaching clinics of any chiropractic colleges. Both the Review Committee and the Executive Committee of the CCE’s board recommended approval of the proposal to the members of the board of directors.
Presently, Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic is the only remaining chiropractic degree program that does not teach physiologic therapeutics in its curriculum or incorporate its use in patient care in its teaching clinics. There were several interested members of the Sherman administrative team present for the voting meeting on Jan. 11. It was interesting to note that the motion to table the recommendation of the study committee was made by the chair of the committee, Sawyer.
Other CCE Actions
The board also tabled two other proposals for changes brought forward by the
CCE Commission on Accreditation (COA) The COA is the branch of CCE responsible
for evaluating chiropractic educational programs and making accreditation decisions.
The first, a revision to Policy 8 that addresses adverse accreditation decisions
(probation or revocation of accredited status of a chiropractic program), provided
protection for students enrolled in their last academic year. The revision,
if approved, would allow those students enrolled in the last academic year of
a program that loses its accreditation with CCE to complete their education
and graduate with an accredited degree. The second proposal to be tabled, under
Bylaw section 3.0 Membership, also proposed by the Commission on Accreditation,
was a bylaw change that would provide for all accredited chiropractic programs
to be guaranteed representation on either the Commission on Accreditation or
CCE Board of Directors on a rotating basis. In fact, the CCE bylaws previously
contained this provision but it was removed in January 2003. The only chiropractic
program that has not had representation on either branch of the CCE is Life
University’s College of Chiropractic.
Other bylaw changes defining who could hold membership on either the CCE board or COA and length of membership terms were approved and can be viewed on the CCE’s website cce-usa.org. The CCE also approved a policy and created a process to allow accredited chiropractic programs to apply for a waiver or exemption from a Standard of Accreditation for Doctor of Chiropractic Programs under extraordinary circumstances. This change is reflected in the 2004 Standards for Accredited Doctor of Chiropractic Programs, but not found in the 2004 Policies. Board of Directors Policy 56, which establishes certain performance requirements of students enrolled in accredited chiropractic programs and requires that those pass rates are reported to CCE, was revised to reflect the following standards:
Performance
on Part 1 of the NBCE Examinations — The weighted arithmetic
average of candidate (first time) percent pass rates of the four most recent
examinations must not be less than 60 percent.
Performance on Part 2 of the NBCE Examinations —
The weighted arithmetic average of candidate (first time) percent pass rates
of the four most recent examinations must not be less than 60 percent.
Performance on Part 3 of the NBCE Examinations — The weighted
arithmetic average of candidate (first time) percent pass rates of the four
most recent examinations must not be less than 70 percent.
Performance on Part 4 of the NBCE Examinations — The weighted
arithmetic average of student scores of norming group (first time) percent pass
rates of the four most recent examinations must not be less than 70 percent.
There were two policies
created that has considerable impact on the cost of accreditation for chiropractic
colleges. The following policy was created that establishes fees for the initial
accreditation for new chiropractic programs:
CCE Policy COA-15
Initial Accreditation Fee Schedule
Along with
submission of eligibility documents, the DCP applying for initial accreditation
from CCE will be billed a processing charge whether found eligible to apply
or not. In addition, the prospective DCPs will be billed for the initial self-study
application.
The fees for these actions were delineated as follows: The fee for the initial application of eligibility will be $2,500. The fee for submission of a self-study report in official application of accreditation for initial accrediation is set at $5,000.
The billing processes and fees for site visits are identified in COA-14, Site Visit Fee Schedule. The amount billed is determined by the days spent on site and the number of site team members used. This was approved on Jan. 11.
In addition fees paid by accredited chiropractic colleges or programs were raised from $60 for each full-time student to $80 for each full-time student beginning in 2005. This means that a chiropractic college with 1,000 students will pay an additional $20,000 in fees to the Council on Chiropractic Education beginning next year.
In the Executive Vice President’s report, Dr. Martha S. O’Connor announced that CCE had recently undergone review by the Commission on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and should be receiving notification as to whether CCE was approved for status. CHEA is a voluntary association of accrediting agencies that evaluates and recognizes other accrediting agencies that meet its standards. As of Feb. 16, no notice had been posted on the CHEA website as to the outcome of CCE’s review.
Dr. O’Connor also emphasized CCE’s commitment to a more “transparent” and participatory process within the organization. To that end, CCE is opening the site team academy training session scheduled for March 10 in Las Vegas to all interested parties at a nominal fee. Additional information can be found at the CCE website, cce-usa.org.
About the author: Dr. Pogrelis is a 1978 graduate of Life Chiropractic College.
She is the former dean of the Life University College of Chiropractic and served
as associate dean and the chief of staff of clinics from 1998 to 2002. She currently
is a consultant in accreditation matters and litigation management. She can
be reached at pogrelis@aol.com.
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