The following is the text of a statement by Adrian Wenban, B.Sc., B.App.Sc., M.Med.Sc., PGCert.(Med Ed) Principal of the Barcelona College of Chiropractic on the denial of accreditation by the European Council on Chiropractic Education.  

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The aim of this communiqué is first, to share the ECCE’s decision on the BCC’s application for full accreditation, second to summarise the site visit report and third, to ensure all interested parties that we at the BCC accept both the site team’s evaluation report and the ECCE CoA judgement.

On Friday the 28th of November the members of the ECCE CoA informed the Barcelona College of Chiropractic that the ECCE would not be fully accrediting the BCC at this time.

There are thirty seven (37) criteria that ECCE rank according to a flag system. The following summarises what the BCC site visit evaluation report related -

* Fifteen (15) dark green flags (Dark green flag denotes FULL compliance with the standards) * Fourteen (14) light green flags (Light green flag denotes SUBSTANTIAL compliance with the standards) * Seven (7) yellow flags (Yellow flag denotes PARTIAL compliance with the standards)* One (1) red flag (Red flag denotes noncompliance with the standards)

We received one (1) red flag out of thirty seven (37) in our site visit report and that seems to be the main barrier to full accreditation at this time. You will see in the report that the red flag lead to a concern but that we were also commended for much of the good work that we have done -

COMMENDATIONS

· The strong leadership of the Principal, and the work and support from teaching and administrative staff in implementing and providing education and training in chiropractic. · Development of a chiropractic programme that is unique in being the first to provide bilingual education and training. · Success in forging a formal agreement with a public university in Spain leading to a Masters award from the University for graduates. · The facilities and resources available to staff and students, in particular the clinical training facilities and e-learning resources. · Robust lines of student and graduate feedback to inform and improve the curriculum.

Despite that, when communicating their final decision to me, last Friday, I was told that we need to make the programme more 'evidence-based' and until it is, the BCC would not be accredited.

After reflecting on the decision, my team and those we work closely with at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) agree that the programme of study will benefit from being more evidence based and that modifications in line with the site visit team’s report and CoA decision will lead to an improved programme and the BCC being a better chiropractic educational institution.

As a result, I ask that BCC supporters and detractors cease making derogatory public comments and accept the decision just as we have within the BCC.

I want to thank the ECCE for the work done to date and to AEQ and the ECU for their ongoing support. I also want to thank BCC students and graduates for their confidence and patience as we work through this process. Finally, I want to thank the members of the BCC administration, teaching team and community of supporters for their unswerving efforts and for their renewed committment to do what it takes to acheive full ECCE accreditation in the very near future.

Regards, Adrian Wenban, B.Sc., B.App.Sc., M.Med.Sc., PGCert.(Med Ed). Principal, Barcelona College of Chiropractic