DEAC January Round-up

I was a bit behind in looking at the accreditation actions for DEAC this last go around, but there were some significant changes I just wanted to highlight in case others missed them.

1. That Veterinary Traditional Chinese Medical School was accredited. Hey, I'm always happy to see non-traditional studies entering into the arena, I guess? I'm assuming that the target demographic will be to licensed professionals who are either vet techs or veterinarians (I haven't checked). Though I suppose one could probably sail under the radar rubbing herbs on chicken in that unregulated space between veterinarian and chef.

2. Hawthorn University accredited - Another player in the nutrition and holistic health market. This one stood out for me because they offer not just a doctorate but a Doctor of Science, a degree I've always felt was underrepresented in the U.S.

3. Penn Foster is basically 70% owned by Bane Capital. Neat factoid. But Penn Foster also caught my attention for receiving approval for two additional degree programs: an AS in Manufacturing and an AS in Industrial Supervision. As an HR guy at a company that does quite a bit of manufacturing, this is a pretty interesting development. I've seen more than a handful of their engineering tech grads in our offices. However, their offerings were limited in what could appeal to the guys on the production floor. In practice, welders and assemblers earned degrees in either engineering or business administration/management when they wanted the mobility to get an office job or to move through the management ranks. I'm not saying these options are better or worse than those choices but they are different.

4. Hypnosis Motivation Institute on Show Cause - We rarely discuss HMI, likely because they don't award degrees. They also don't offer financial aid that I can see. So I'm not entirely sure as to what utility DEAC accreditation offers the school. Their programs are pretty affordable and available either in-person in California or fully online. I took their free course some years ago just for funzies. Basically, there is nothing revolutionary in there especially if you've ever studied meditation. They seem to be a relatively small outfit, as evidenced by my getting into a heated email exchange with someone who at least claimed to be George Kappas (son of the founder) when I pointed out that their log in wasn't working. They are rather ballsy with their marketing as their front page presents their certificate program as an alternative to becoming a psychologist. Anyway, beyond the .edu, I'm just not sure what they get out of DEAC anyway so I won't be shocked if they go the way of Cleveland Institute of Electronics.

 

HMI is a decent size (but small) judging by their materials. They have a number of therapy rooms where students doing practicums can see clients. You can do the in person diploma (takes several months) or online (less expensive).

I took a more recent version of the free foundation course. It was free and quite interesting. John Melton was the instructor and it was well produced (like a late night talk show studio).

In most states Hypnosis is not regulated (some it is). That said, to join the academic/clinical associations like ASCH or SCEH (think I got the initials correct) you must be a licensed clinician or academic. One of those was founded by Dr. Milton Erickson (psychiatrist).

I saw an article once that several years ago some students sued. I believe the issue was they claimed HMI oversold how easy it would be to set up and do well as a Hypnotherapist.

For what they do, the DEAC accreditation is not necessary. It is good for bragging rights to say they are accredited but there are perfectly legitimate hypnosis programs that are not (but are accepted by Florida for instance who does regulate hypnosis).

 

I just noticed an interesting inclusion on the list of DEAC institutions to be considered...

• Southwest University of Naprapathic Medicine, Santa Fe, NM

Those not familiar with naprapathy may be familiar with our periodic mention of it. To my knowledge, it is only licensed in two states, Illinois and, most recently, New Mexico. Only two schools in the US graduate Doctors of Naprapathic Medicine (D.N.). Neither are accredited but both are licensure qualifying.

Interestingly, at least in NM, the license itself includes the title "Doctor" in it.

I'm not sure how DEAC accreditation would benefit Southwest University since I imagine theirs is a clinical program that requires classroom time. They have no other degrees listed on their website. Perhaps that will change. Alternatively, we may be seeing something interesting happening here with a first professional clinical degree going hybrid. I also would have considered the restriction to Illinois something that dramatically limited the profession itself. Though maybe we're just seeing it start to ramp up with all of the new focus on alternative medicine and the like. Their clinical requirement requires 350 treatments.

Personally, I fail to see why this is needed as it appears to basically be PT. But hey, just one more table at career day!