Texas Pride – Life & TCC
By Tim Langley, D.C.
Texans are legendary for the pride they have in their state. And to tell you the truth, most Texans I’ve met over these 49 years have been fine, upstanding people. People proud of doing the right thing because it is right. Most Texans are the kind of folks that would choose to do right over being right if they had to make that choice.
Well, I have just witnessed an event that would make even the tallest, proudest Texan hang his head in shame. At 2:05 THIS MORNING (Monday, July 15) a charter bus and a van pulled out of Marietta, Georgia with approximately 60 students from Life University headed to Texas Chiropractic College in Pasadena, Texas. Given the circumstances of Life University’s unresolved accreditation situation, one could not blame the students for checking out their options. But, that’s not really the whole story.
On June 10 of this year, the Council on Chiropractic Education unexpectedly refused to re-affirm Life’s accreditation because of the school’s supposed unwillingness to adhere to relatively new guidelines. Oddly, Life University (the world’s largest chiropractic teaching institution with an enrollment of 2,600) was not represented on CCE’s Commission on Accreditation, while Texas Chiropractic College (with an enrollment of 350) is represented on the Commission and voted to revoke Life’s accreditation.
At 4:30 on the afternoon of June 10, Dr. Alvin Richard was told to be in Marietta the next day. Indeed, Dr. Richard was in Marietta the next day buying dinner for over 100 Life students at Sidelines, a sports bar just two miles from the Life campus, and extolling the virtues of his alma mater and employer.
As Life students were piling on to the bus with their overnight bags, blankets and pillows, Dr. Richard was standing outside the bus looking like a kid who’d just stolen a bag full of candy without getting caught. In one fell swoop, he could increase his school’s enrollment by almost 20%. All he had to do was buy dinner, feed off students’ fear and uncertainty, then sneak them out under the cover of night. Dr. Richard’s and TCC’s coup is reminiscent of the NFL’s Colts move from Baltimore to Indianapolis in the middle of the night.
Several other chiropractic schools are offering financial incentives for Life students transferring to their schools. However, none have been as bold as TCC and its Dr. Richard. Especially, with TCC’s position on the COA. A decision that is already fraught with doubt and skepticism throughout the profession because of the appearance of political and personal overtones toward Life’s founder and President, Dr. Sid Williams, is now cast in an even darker shadow.
Many questions have yet to be answered about the COA’s decision. Those questions may only be answered in court or by investigation by either the U.S. Department of Education or the Justice Department. However, the actions of Texas Chiropractic College are despicable in their own right and should be as much an embarrassment to the Council on Chiropractic Education and every Texan as it is to the entire chiropractic profession.
If you know someone in Texas, feel free to share this with them. The people of Texas need to know what they are teaching future chiropractors about business ethics. The chiropractic profession and its accrediting agency should also take note of the dishonor being heaped on a great and noble profession.
Tim Langley, D.C.
Smyrna, GA
planetc1.com-news @ 7:03 am | Article ID: 1026828197