An exclusive Q&A with Life University’s Drs. Charles Ribley and Michael Schmidt
Following the Oct. 20 decision by CCE to deny Life’s accreditation appeal, Today’s Chiropractic sat down with Dr. Charles Ribley, chairman of Life’s Board of Trustees and Life Interim President Dr. Michael Schmidt to discuss the next steps for the school, its students and the entire Life family.
TC:
What does the CCE decision mean and what will Life do next?Dr. Schmidt: Without a doubt, the Council on Chiropractic Education’s decision to deny our accreditation appeal is an important point is the history of Life University. But the university’s future rests more on the reaccreditation application process and continuing the atmosphere of reform that has brought the school so far in the past several months.
We have already sent our letter applying for reaccreditation to CCE. We expect a response by the end of November and will immediately inform students, faculty, staff and alumni of the expected timeline for reaccreditation. All of the school’s stakeholders deserve to have, and will be given, all of the information they need to make the appropriate decisions for themselves and their families.
For early and mid quarter students, the CCE decision should not affect their day-to-day experience at Life. Classes continue and our accreditation issues will be resolved long before they approach graduation. Our situation is more complicated for 13th and 14th quarter students and knowing the reaccreditation timeline will enable students to make better decisions.
TC: Is the university financially capable of making it through the accreditation process and how many students does the university need to remain open?
Dr. Ribley: The school will not close. That will not even be considered. The university is financially capable of operating through the accreditation period and that fact will not change, regardless of enrollment. There is no enrollment threshold that Life can drop below to trigger the closing of the university.
The bottom line is we will need to make additional budget reductions to reflect student enrollment, but we are in no danger of closing.
TC:
What will happen to the students who graduate from Life during the unaccredited
period?Dr. Ribley: Life will not graduate a class until accreditation has been restored. By choosing that path, the university will ensure all students—including current 13th and 14th quarter students—are eligible to practice in the state of their choice.
We regret that some students may have to wait to graduate but again, the school is doing everything in its power to regain accreditation as soon as possible.
TC: Will the classes being taken by students this quarter—or any class students take while the university is unaccredited—count toward an accredited degree?
Dr. Schmidt: Historically, once the university is accredited, the CCE accredits the entire chiropractic program, including any class that students may take during the unaccredited period.
As the administration has said before, no student should feel like he or she needs to leave Life in order to graduate from a top-flight, accredited chiropractic program. We are committed to giving the students who remain here an unparalleled educational experience that will result in the widest range of professional opportunities.
TC: If students stay and graduate from Life University, will they be able to practice in any state, even though some of the classes were completed during the unaccredited period?
Dr. Ribley: There is no precedent for a state to prevent students from practicing, even though a portion of their degree was earned during an unaccredited period. Again, once the university is accredited, the accreditation is for the entire program.
But it must be said that state laws are subject to change, based on the wishes of each state’s lawmaking body. So, there is always a chance that their laws could be amended. The flip side is that it would take a tremendous amount of effort to change a state law, especially when the chiropractic community seems to agree on the acceptance of these classes.
TC: If a student decides to stay at Life through the end of this quarter, will their classes be transferable?
Dr. Schmidt: The school a student chooses to transfer to determines if a class is transferable or not. It can accept or deny credits from an unaccredited university as they choose.
The Colorado College of Chiropractic is a good example of unaccredited classes gaining wide acceptance. The school opened in 2000 and applied for accreditation, which takes two years to gain. Unfortunately, the school closed in June of this year with no accreditation. Luckily for former Colorado students, classes taken during the unaccredited time are generally being accepted by their new schools.
TC: Let’s talk about National Boards. Will students who complete their course requirements while the university is unaccredited be able to sit for national boards?
Dr. Schmidt: Without a doubt. I have spoken with Dr. Horace Elliott, executive director of the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners, and students will be allowed to sit for national boards.
There are three criteria, of which the university must meet one, for students to sit for national boards. One, the school is recognized and licensed by the state the chiropractor will operate in. Life is recognized by the State of Georgia. Two, the school is accredited by a regional accrediting body. Life is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges, and Schools (SACS). And three, the school is accredited by CCE, which we are not.
Life University meets two of the three criteria and therefore, students are eligible to sit for the National Boards.
TC: So, why did Life University lose the CCE appeal?
Dr. Ribley: We believe it does us no good to focus on the mistakes of the past. That said, we understand that Life’s stakeholders deserve some explanation.
Prior to mid-July, when Dr. Schmidt was appointed to lead Life, the university had what can only be described as an antagonistic relationship with CCE. During the appeal hearing, the CCE cited numerous inconsistencies (prior to the revocation in early June) in reports that the school filed versus observed activities on the campus. In a nutshell, the CCE felt the school provided some misleading information before and during the yearlong probation period that began in June 2001.
In addition, the CCE strictly followed its policy during the appeal by only reviewing information available on or before June 6. They would not consider the changes in the administration that took place on and after Dr. Schmidt’s arrival. Of course, convincing the CCE to consider those changes was crucial to our hopes for victory on the appeal.
We are confident that those changes will play the major role in our regaining accreditation.
TC: Can you detail some of those changes?
Dr. Schmidt: There are literally dozens of changes, both academic and organizational, that the university has made since mid-July. Every single one of them goes to enhancing the student experience here and bringing us in compliance with CCE. These changes will be ongoing in an effort to upgrade the university and always remain accredited.
Some of those changes include diagnosis classes to increase students’ knowledge of cases they may see in clinical settings; enhanced clinical proficiency testing to better assess students’ ability to diagnose patient conditions and recommend a course of care, and physical therapy classes were brought on campus and made a part of the clinical training in fall quarter.
Also, department chairs are completing a proposal to address faculty-teaching loads based on projected enrollment, faculty surveys and need assessments. A new 12-quarter honors program has been implemented to complement the traditional 14-quarter program. Students can save up to $18,000 in tuition and living expenses with the honors program.
Changes to the physical layout of the school, including selling several non-educational buildings and renaming others to reflect their functionality, will provide students with better access to services and center university activities on the main campus in Marietta.
Cost-containment measures, such as the elimination of Life’s intercollegiate athletics program, have been implemented to ensure the school’s financial solvency during and following the crisis. The Finance Department has been charged with creating new financial models based on revised enrollment projections to help identify future measures that will have to be taken.
TC: Will those changes help the school regain accreditation more quickly?
Dr. Schmidt: We are hopeful that the changes we have made demonstrate our commitment to regaining accreditation and remaining in good standing with CCE. The council has a prescribed period for accreditation of 9 months and accepts applications in May and October. We would love to get it done more quickly but we have been given no indication of that happening.
Rest assured that the administration is doing everything in its power to restore Life’s accreditation as quickly as possible.
TC: What is the status of the university’s SACS accreditation?
Dr. Schmidt: The university is on warning with SACS and we expect to be placed on probation in December. The lack of CCE accreditation is a significant reason for the expected probation. That said, we recently received the SACS report from their site visit last month and it was very positive.
SACS recognized the administrative changes and academic program improvements, including course sequencing and clinic instruction. We expect to remain on SACS probation for a 24-month period and be restored to an appropriate standing with the agency.
TC: What can students, alumni or any friend of Life University do to help during this difficult period?
Dr. Ribley: There may be times during this process when negative points of view become the prevailing thoughts about Life University. Those who support Life can help first by keeping the faith that Life will emerge from this crisis as a stronger institution. I truly believe that to be the case.
Secondly, students, alumni, faculty and staff can combat the negativity by spreading the message that Life is making the changes necessary to regain accreditation and never be in a position to lose it again.
Some can choose to focus on the mistakes of the past but those who sincerely care about Life University know the only direction to look is toward the future.