Life and Learn

I support the Doctors for Excellence in Chiropractic Education (DECE) openly, actively, and proudly. What is the DECE and what relevance do they have in my life and practice? DECE is an independent grassroots organization dedicated to ensuring freedom of chiropractic education. It was originally born out of the revocation of Life University's accreditation by the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) and its Council on Accreditation (COA).

Having graduated from Life and practicing in the Marietta area, I was shocked and dismayed that this could happen. How could one of the largest chiropractic school in the world, graduating 20% of the profession's practitioners, all of a sudden be so bad that they should be closed down? When I began to see some of the fruits of this action, I became outraged.

One event that comes to mind is when dinner was bought at a local sports bar for more than 100 Life students by a school represented on CCE’s COA that had just voted to take away Life's accreditation the day before. Still another was when that same school pulled two coach buses loaded with scared students out of Marietta at 2 am on a Sunday morning and headed for Pasadena, Tex. How can a rival school be allowed to vote to take away accreditation?

It became very clear that if I wanted to have an impact on both the situation affecting my alma mater, community, and profession, I would have to be part of a larger and more focused effort. DECE fit that bill.

Shortly after its formation, however, DECE’s mission quickly morphed into the role of chiropractic educational watchdog. This transition was a result of three significant factors. First, the thorough review of the processes of Life’s accreditation situation led to serious concerns regarding the manner in which, not only the CCE and its COA have adhered to their own rules, but also those of federal and state agencies.

Secondly, the DECE was being overwhelmed by outpourings of distrust and hostility toward the CCE and COA by a significant segment of the greater chiropractic community.

And third, over the past several years, CCE has moved the profession away from the traditional chiropractic approach to one based on the role of the chiropractor as primary care physician (PCP). This model for chiropractic is fundamentally and philosophically different from those offered at half of all chiropractic schools and not chosen by the vast majority of students seeking a chiropractic education. By almost any measure, it is failing the public, failing the profession, and ultimately, will fail in the marketplace.

These factors, combined with the extremely harsh stance against Life and the callous treatment of its students motivated us to take a hard look at our profession's sole accrediting agency. Since CCE was given its monopoly power by the US Department of Education (USDE), it has an added burden of acting as fairly and responsibly as is humanly possible.

Unfortunately, our investigations have uncovered numerous instances where CCE may have violated its own guidelines and acted outside the realm of its authority. Some of these include possible conflicts of interest among its COA members regarding the Life matter; an apparent disregard of its own guidelines in the accreditation of University of Bridgeport College of Chiropractic, while Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic had been scrutinized with a fine toothed comb; possible intimidation of member schools; and finally—and maybe most disturbing—is the dissolution of its original corporate charter to which the USDE granted status and re-incorporation in another state altogether with a totally different mission, that of accrediting the education of primary care physicians (PCPs).

At a time when faith in corporate America is at an all-time low because of the Enron and Worldcom scandals, our profession can ill-afford to have changes like these take place under the cloak of darkness. Given the harshness with which CCE has handled Life and the cold and callous treatment given affected Life students, one would think the CCE would ensure that they act with discretion and tact. I only wish that were true.

Many have asked what the DECE wants to accomplish. My answer is simple: We want CCE to put all of its cards on the table; every school to have an equal say in the direction of chiropractic education; the ties between the CCE, Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards, and National Board of Chiropractic Examiners to be broken, permanently; a more reasonable and rational approach be taken relative to the Life accreditation matter; to see a thorough review of CCE and its practices by the USDE, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice.

As a watchdog group comprised of practitioners at large, we can only investigate and expose these actions, policies, and positions to the general public. As doctors concerned by how these relationships could affect the profession as a whole, we can call on federal and state authorities to determine if laws or policies have been broken or ignored.

The chiropractic profession has been tainted, maybe permanently, by an agency with absolute power granted by the federal government. That agency, just as with every aspect of government, should be scrutinized by and justify itself to the public it serves. No one should be above the law.

Not even the CCE.

Timothy A. Langley, DC, has been in practice for 2 years in Smyrna, Ga, and graduated from Life University in 1999. In January 2003, he was hired by Life as its director of admissions. Langley can be reached at: 2100 Roswell Rd, Suite 200C-526, Marietta, Ga 30062-5813; 770-289-9711.