Chapter 6, Part 2 – Trouble with Washington Board of Chiropractic Examiners
In addition to finding itself at odds with the neighborhood, the college found itself at odds with the Washington Board of Chiropractic Examiners. The WBCE notified the college that it was resuming its restriction of WSCC graduates to sit for its licensing examinations. The reason given for reinstating its sanction against the college was the same as it had been five years earlier: not enough chiropractic philosophy was being taught in the WSCC curriculum. Five years earlier, the college had quickly negotiated an agreement to appease the WBCE. This time, an agreement would not come as easily.
The move to the new campus occurred so quickly the college had no time to find an alternative site for its clinic operations. For the time being, clinic operations could continue at the old campus. It was still on the market, but until it sold, there was no need to disrupt patient care or the clinical training of students. Moving clinic operations to the new campus was out of the question. It would be extremely difficult to convince the county to permit an outpatient clinic on campus. An alternative clinic site would have to be identified and readied for occupancy before the old campus sold, and there was no money to support this project.
Eventually, the neighborhood association began to warm to the idea of having the college in their neighborhood. It was helpful when the neighborhood learned the request for an increase in the number of students allowed on campus was modest when compared to what was already authorized for the Marycrest students. With the blessings of the neighborhood, the college was allowed to increase the total student population to 200.
No offers to purchase the old campus were made in all of 1973. Fortunately, it allowed the college to continue outpatient clinic operations at the old campus, freeing the college from having to fund a new outpatient clinic. Unfortunately, the college was depending heavily on the sale of the old campus to make the next $50,000 payment on the mortgage.
The college administration was burdened with a number of challenging distractions, each demanding immediate attention. The administration could ill-afford one more distraction. However, that is precisely what the college was given.
The Washington Board of Chiropractic Examiners demanded face-to-face meetings with representatives of the college in Seattle. Having no other choice in the matter, the college met with the WBCE on numerous occasions over many months, but this concession by the college turned out to be futile and fruitless. Talks ended in a stalemate not of the college’s choosing. The college felt the WBCE was not addressing the issues in a substantive and timely manner, which prolonged the distress of WSCC graduates wishing to practice in their home state of Washington. The WBCE did offer to contribute $100/month for six months to the college as a good-will gesture.
The college was stretched to the limits of its human and financial resources and unable to address all of its challenges in a timely manner. Accreditation plans were a victim of the chaos that swirled about the new campus. In July 1973, Dr. Elliot announced the college’s application for accreditation had been withdrawn and would be resubmitted in January the following year. There was simply not enough time or personnel available to produce a credible, accurately reflective self-study and prepare for a site team visit.