Life University must wait at least two years for reaccreditation

MARIETTA - Four days after taking over as the new president of Life University, Ben DeSpain has learned that the troubled chiropractic school will not be eligible for reaccreditation for at least two years. <br> <br> Friday&#39;s announcement was the latest blow to students already concerned about their future. <br> <br> Several hundred students fell silent in the school&#39;s auditorium as DeSpain read a three paragraph letter from the Council on Chiropractic Education that spelled out the bad news. <br> <br> The council revoked the Marietta school&#39;s accreditation in June, and refused to grant an appeal of the decision last month. Without accreditation, graduates of the school cannot get licenses to practice in many states. <br> <br> Life University spokesman Will Hurst says the school cannot reapply for accreditation until June 2004. That means the college could regain its status in January 2005 at the earliest. <br> <br> But the 63-year-old DeSpain remained optimistic that the school will recover. <br> <br> He said, ``We have not yet begun to fight here at Life, but today we begin.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> DeSpain was appointed president of the school Tuesday after a four-month searc. He says the school could choose to fight back by going to court. <br> <br> About 800 chiropractic students remain at what was once the largest chiropractic school in the nation, down from 2,600 in June. <br> <br> The accreditation problems resulted in the resignation of founder and president Sid Williams.