September 23, 2011 — The American Chiropractic Association (ACA), in written comments submitted recently to the Department of Education (DOE), underscores the importance of the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) to the chiropractic profession and the integrity of its work.
“The ACA has great respect for the CCE’s accreditation protocols and principles. We perceive them to be mission driven, peer reviewed, and both evidence and outcomes-based,” reads the ACA statement.
ACA’s comments were sent in response to a request for public comments from DOE’s National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI), which is conducting a routine review of CCE’s status as a federal accrediting agency. ACA also plans to offer oral testimony in support of CCE’s application in December.
In its comments, ACA highlights CCE’s continuing efforts to raise the bar of chiropractic education and the wide support the agency receives from the majority of the profession: “We have perceived over time a consistent improvement in the quality of chiropractic education, which we believe is the result of CCE’s programs and active leadership. We are pleased to note that the vast majority of state boards of chiropractic licensure agree with this, as is evidenced by their requirement that their licensees have graduated from chiropractic colleges that are CCE accredited.”
“The establishment of CCE and its subsequent federal recognition cannot be understated in respect to its impact on the chiropractic profession,” said ACA President Keith Overland, DC. “Recognition of the CCE by the Department of Education has far-reaching effects, not only on the availability of federal student loans for our students, but also on where DCs may practice since some states may not license a provider from an unaccredited school.”
ACA’s efforts to expand patient access to chiropractic care and to ensure that DCs are included on par with other physician-level providers in federal and state healthcare reform initiatives are also enhanced by the fact that chiropractic colleges are accredited by the Department of Education through CCE.
“Having federal recognition through CCE adds value to the DC degree and it gives increased cultural authority to those who earn it,” said Overland. “It is something that, as a profession, we must support and protect.”
To read ACA’s entire letter to DOE, visit www.acatoday.org/pdf/USDOE.pdf.
Source: American Chiropractic Association, www.acatoday.org
