April 11-12, 2016 Commission Meeting
Commission Actions
To view this information as a pdf document, click here: COMTA Actions – April 2016
The Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation (COMTA) has concluded its April 11-12, 2016 Commission Meeting. By action of the Commission, the following schools have received:
Initial Grant of Accreditation, April 2016 – April 2023
- European Medical School of Massage (Sinking Spring, PA), Institutional
Renewal of Accreditation, April 2016 – April 2023
- Parker University – School of Massage Therapy (Dallas, TX), Programmatic
- Rizzieri School for the Healing Arts (Voorhees, NJ), Institutional
- Technical College of the Lowcountry – Massage Therapy Program (Bluffton, SC) Programmatic
Deferral of Renewal of Accreditation & Continue Show Cause
- Academy of Natural Therapy (Greeley, CO) – Institutional
Extend grant of accreditation to July 31, 2016 – See below
Deferral of Renewal of Accreditation & Place on Probation
- Cortiva Institute Chicago (Chicago, Joliet, Crystal Lake, IL)– Institutional
Extend grant of accreditation to October 31, 2016 – See below
Probation:
- International Professional School of Bodywork – (San Diego, CA) – See below
Change of Location:
- Educating Hands (Miami, FL)
The Commission confirmed the school’s change of location to 260 NE 17th Terrace Miami FL 33132.
Addition of New Program:
- CenterPoint Massage and Shiatsu Therapy School & Clinic (Minneapolis, MN)
The Commission granted interim approval to the school’s 1350 hour/64 credit East West Therapeutic Bodywork AAS degree, pending further verification.
Substantive Curriculum Change:
- East West College of Healing Arts (Portland, OR)
The Commission approves the change from clock hours to credits. The Massage Therapy Certificate program will be recorded as 800 clock hours and 66.2 quarter credits.
Notification of Teach-Out/Closure:
- Ann Arbor Institute of Massage Therapy (Ann Arbor, MI), Effective February 22, 2016
- NOTE: As of this posting, the school still has COMTA accreditation advertised on its website in violation of COMTA policy. The school has been notified to remove it effective immediately, and the Commission confirms that the school’s grant of accreditation has expired. Contact the COMTA office for questions.
- Body Therapy Institute (Siler City, NC), Effective December 31, 2016
- Cortiva Institute – Boston (Watertown, MA), Effective December 31, 2016
Notification to Let Accreditation Expire:
- Allegany College of Maryland – Massage Program (Cumberland, MD), Programmatic – Effective April 2017
Please note: Renewal schools placed on show cause, probation or deferral are considered accredited institutions.
Continued Show Cause:
- Academy of Natural Therapy – (Greeley, CO)
At the August 2012 meeting, the Commission acted to accept the 2011 annual report with a status of Probation pending the improvement of the total current assets to total current liabilities ratio, a measure of financial stability.At the August 2013 meeting, the Commission reviewed the school’s 2012 annual report and acted to continue the probation status and defer the decision on the 2012 annual report pending response to a few conditions. At its January 2014 meeting, the Commission reviewed the school’s response and acted to accept the 2012 annual report and continue the probation status pending review of the regularly scheduled 2013 annual report to evaluate progress on meeting the current ratio minimum threshold.At its October 2014 meeting, the Commission reviewed the school’s 2013 annual report and accompanying materials and acted to accept the 2013 annual report and continue the probation status from August 2012 for low ratio of current assets to current liabilities as demonstrated by financial audits. The school was granted an extension for good cause based on internally prepared financial statements.At its July 21, 2015 meeting, the Commission reviewed the school’s 2014 audited financial statements and compliance audit. Based on the materials submitted for review, the Commission acted to place the school on Show Cause for continued low financial stability and to continue the condition on the 1,000 hour program for completion rates below the COMTA threshold.At its recent April 11-12, 2016 meeting, the Commission reviewed all of the institution’s materials for renewal of accreditation and has acted to defer the decision on renewal for three (3) months and extend the current grant of accreditation until July 31, 2016 with the continued Show Cause order. The school is required to submit an interim report and undergo an unscheduled one-day site visit for the purpose of further evaluating standards that were not verified during the regular renewal visit.
Probation:
- Cortiva Institute – Chicago (Chicago, Joliet, Crystal Lake, IL)
The Chicago Loop (main) and Crystal Lake (auxiliary) locations have previous conditions for low completion rates from the 2012 and 2013 annual reports. The school had had a maximum timeframe until August 2014 to meet the 12-month program completion rate threshold. This deadline was then extended for good cause and administrative purposes until December 2015 when rates would be re-evaluated using the new reporting procedure (which evaluates all tracks/schedules of a track together).At its recent April 11-12, 2016 meeting, the Commission reviewed the institution’s materials for renewal of accreditation, as well as the 2014-2015 annual report and previous conditions. Based on the materials available for review, the Commission has acted to place the institution on probation for continued low completion rates. Defer the renewal decision and extend the grant of accreditation for a period of six (6) months until October 31, 2016 to allow the school to address the unverified standards. - International Professional School of Bodywork (San Diego, CA)
At its March 2014 meeting, the Commission reviewed the institution’s 2013 annual report and acted to accept the 2013 annual report with two conditions: low completion rates for the HHP and AS program, and low financial current ratio. The school had a maximum timeframe of March 2016 to meet the COMTA benchmarks. The condition for low current ratio was re-evaluated and removed at the April 2015 meeting after review of the 2014 audited financial statements which met the COMTA financial stability Standard. The condition on completion rates was extended to be re-evaluated with the next annual report submission, which was rescheduled for February 1, 2016 due to COMTA reporting procedure changes.At its recent April 11-12, 2016 meeting, the Commission reviewed the school’s report submissions and has acted to place the school on Probation for failure to submit audited financial statements, timely payment of sustaining fees, and failure to meet COMTA completion rate threshold for the HHP and AS programs.