March 19 – 21, 2014 Commission Meeting
Commission Actions
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The Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation (COMTA) has concluded its March 19 – 21, 2014 Commission Meeting. By action of the Commission, the following schools have received:
Initial Accreditation (Institutional):
• New Mexico Academy of Healing Art (Santa Fe, NM)
Initial Accreditation (Programmatic):
• Gadsden State Community College – Massage Therapy Program (Gadsden, AL)
• Idaho State University – Massage Therapy Program (Pocatello, ID)
Deferred Renewal of Accreditation (Institutional):
The Commission has deferred decision on renewal of accreditation until October 2014 and extended the grant of accreditation for six (6) months.
• SOLEX Medical Academy (Wheeling, IL)
Change of location:
• Institute for Therapeutic Massage – (Tinton Falls, NJ)
The Commission accepted the site visit report and confirmed approval of the Branch Campus Change of Location from Red Bank to Tinton Falls, effective immediately.
Placed on Probation:
• Rizzieri School for the Healing Arts – (Voorhees, NJ) – For details, see below.
Please note: Renewal schools placed on show cause, probation or deferral are considered accredited institutions.
Rizzieri School for the Healing Arts Probation:
On February 10, 2014 COMTA staff learned of a staffing change and apparent re-organization of the school’s leadership which had occurred in September 2013. This was confirmed by the school, but the requested Substantive Change documentation was not submitted.
The Commission reviewed the recent staff changes within the Rizzieri School for the Healing Arts and has acted to place the school on probation for violation of COMTA’s Substantive Change Policy and Standards 9.1 and 9.2.
The Commission requests an interim report from the institution addressing the following concerns:
- Standard 9.1: Explain the management structure of the School for the Healing Arts and the Aveda Beauty School, particularly in reference to the apparent removal of individual school directors.
- Standard 9.1: Submit an updated Organizational Chart showing the leadership of the School for the Healing Arts in relation to the rest of the Rizzieri organization, including the Aveda Beauty School.
- Substantive Change Policy: Submit appropriate Substantive Change materials for Change of Leadership, per Policy & Procedure Manual, p. 17. These include submitting the following for the Director of the School of Healing Arts: (1) current resume of new director; (2) updated COMTA D.8 Administrative Personnel form; (3) new job description of new director.
- Standard 9.2: Ensure that a current member of the School for the Healing Arts staff has completed online COMTA compliance course, CM270.