Alerts
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The Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation (COMTA) would like to bring your attention to the following announcements discussed at the May 21-23, 2013 meeting:
1) Standard 3.1.5 – post October 2012 definition for A&P– The Commission re-visited the requirement for A&P that was discussed at the October 2012 meeting and decided to add “regional” in front of “accredited college or university” within the current definition for Undergraduate Proficiency for Anatomy and Physiology. Please visit Appendix C: Definition of Terms for more information.
2) Initial Applicants with financial ratios below the 1:1 threshold, Per Standard 8.1.2.2 – The Commission discussed the financial requirement for new applicants. The application for new schools or programs has previously required for the (audited or reviewed) financial statements to meet the 1:1 ratio per COMTA Standard 8.1.2.2. The Commission decided to remove the 1:1 financial ratio statement from the application form for initial applicants, but still collect the financial statements for the previous two (2) years. Applicants not yet meeting the ratio will now be allowed to proceed to the self-study report stage of the process. The ratio will still be considered as part of the accreditation decision.
3) Peer Reviewer qualifications – Discussion of qualifications for Practitioner volunteers for Peer Review site visits included how COMTA will identify that someone has recent enough connection to activities in the profession to be considered a “current” practitioner. The Commissioners agreed that where available, a license or state certification should be maintained by the practitioner. In the absence of an available license, the volunteer will be asked to demonstrate awareness of the current needs of practitioners in the field in other ways, such as participation in industry-specific conferences and education. The staff will evaluate materials submitted and make a determination of qualifications prior to accepting volunteers. The application materials for volunteers are being updated and these qualifications will be added.
4) Peer Reviewer training fees – The Commission re-visited the peer reviewer training criteria and decided to remove the fee of $150 for CM270 online course for any position on the site team. Once a volunteer has been evaluated and approved to join as a peer reviewer, COMTA staff will provide the enrollment key to complete the course.
5) Preaccreditation Status –As announced after the October 2012 meeting, the Commission has decided to explore a new status for schools committed to working toward COMTA accreditation but not yet meeting all the Standards of Accreditation. This status would allow the school a modified recognition while working toward full compliance with the standards. The exploration of creating this status is on hold due to revisions to the Standards of Accreditation in progress. Further information about the new status is expected to follow the October 2013 meeting of the Commission.
Be sure to check the COMTA website regularly for actions and alerts. The Commission updates all pertinent actions and alerts on its website. Please promptly inform COMTA if your school/program has any new contact information.
If you have comments regarding any of the schools on this list please contact the COMTA office. For additional information concerning this memorandum, please contact Kate Zulaski, Executive Director, at 202-895-1518 x.849, or via email at kzulaski@comta.org. You may also email the chair of the Commission at chair@comta.org.