Life University Vision, Mission, Values and Core Proficiencies
Life University’s Vision
A world centered on vitalistic thinking and action.
LIFE’s Credo
- We believe that living systems are self-aware, self-developing, self-maintaining and self-healing.
- We understand that living systems function best when operating free of interference.
- We recognize that interference results in the diminished expression and quality of life.
- Therefore, Life University’s programs are designed to educate students to identify and correct interference, allowing living systems to improve expression of their innate potential.
Life University’s Mission
The mission of Life University is to empower each student with the education, skills and values to maximize the perfection within, based upon a vitalistic philosophy.
Life University is committed to a global vision and excellence in teaching, learning and research, providing an exceptional student experience leading to a life of Integrity and Lasting Purpose.
Life University’s Values
Lasting Purpose, Vitalism, Integrity
Values Definitions
Lasting Purpose - To live an inner-directed life, to give, to do, to love, to serve, out of your own abundance.
Vitalism - Our recognition that the Universe itself is self-conscious, and as such, creates itself as a dynamic system wherein living organisms are self-developing, self-maintaining and self-healing.
- Our Vitalistic Ethos – We acknowledge that the phenomenon of life is fundamentally original, adaptable, and unpredictable. It is original in that life creates its own meaning: adaptable in that it expresses itself through overcoming entropy: and unpredictable as it transforms itself and evolves.
Integrity – A state of completeness or wholeness; adherence to a set of values, implying wholeness of body, mind and spirit; and in our relationships with people and the planet.
College Mission Statements
The College of Chiropractic
The Mission of the Life University’s College of Chiropractic, centered on the Vertebral Subluxation Complex, is to educate, mentor and graduate skilled and compassionate Doctors of Chiropractic to be primary care clinicians, physicians, teachers and professionals, using the University’s Core Values as their foundation.
The College of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies
The Mission of Life University’s College of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies is to empower students to achieve successful careers and meaningful lives, based on a vitalistic philosophy that promotes optimum performance and transformational leadership, to produce a positive impact in a dynamic world.
The College of Online Education
The Mission of Life University’s College of Online Education is to provide a high-quality global online educational experience, based on a vitalistic philosophy, that maximizes each student’s innate potential to pursue their goals and assume roles in leadership and the workplace through the application of Integrity and principles of Lasting Purpose.
Strategic Initiatives
- Achieving Preeminence as a Vitalistic University.
- Manifesting Excellence and Maturing as an Institution.
- Strengthening Our Education Process, Operations, and Systems.
- Expanding our Leadership.
Eight Core LIFE Proficiencies
In conjunction with providing healthcare degree programs, Life University is committed to delivering an education designed around a set of core proficiencies that advance personal integrity and provide the foundation for professional success, social contribution and cultural change. These proficiencies distinguish a Life University education.
Integrity & Citizenship
Integrity provides the underpinning for the responsible exercise of our rights and responsibilities as human beings. Integrity leads to empowerment and excellence, while a lack of integrity results in mediocrity. Life University teaches students how to manage personal integrity and function as valued citizens within the academic, healthcare and larger communities.
Leadership & Entrepreneurship
Extensive research available today outlines the hallmarks of effective leadership. Life University draws on this body of knowledge and teaches students how to apply it in an entrepreneurial setting to build a successful business or organization.
Learning Theory/Critical Thinking
Life University engages students in critical thinking by teaching them how to gather meaningful data, synthesize new information with existing knowledge, think independently and search for practical application of their knowledge in professional practice and daily life. We exhort our students to not only learn skills, but to become innovators who contribute positively to their communities.
Contemporary Scientific Paradigms
For thousands of years, and especially since Sir Isaac Newton, humankind’s scientific understanding of the functioning of the universe has been based largely on a mechanistic model. Contemporary quantum physics opens the door to a much more vitalistic understanding of human dynamics. Life University will expose our students to the implications of these models, especially as they apply to research in health care.
Philosophy of Human Existence & Healthcare Policy
Healthcare systems evolve from healthcare philosophies. Although our most institutionalized systems today revolve around a mechanistic view of health, Life University sees value in a vitalistic view of human function. With a growing body of evidence to support vitalistic concepts in the healthcare milieu, Life University will help spearhead changes that will revolutionize our nation’s approach to health care. Our faculty will clearly identify these key issues for students and teach them how to evaluate new information and direct professional dialogues that will lead to new healthcare policy.
Communication & Relationship Theory/Skills
An ability to communicate effectively and the capacity for building relationships with others are critical factors in personal, business and life success. These skills can be developed. Life University will challenge its students to develop and utilize the skills of effective listening, empathy, interpersonal skills and public speaking to create clear communications and foster meaningful professional relationships with members of the public, patients, colleagues and key opinion leaders.
Belief Systems & Performance
Life University will expose its students to a range of contemporary intellectual approaches and technologies that will help them reach higher levels of performance and success. Students will learn criteria by which to judge the usefulness of certain technologies and their applicability to their learning styles.
Integrative Change
Because change is one of the few constants in today’s professional environments, an educated person must learn how to evaluate, plan for and effectively use the element of change to impact controlled differences in the world. Life University will expose students to tested theories and concepts and help them evaluate their usefulness. Students will also learn how people integrate and accept new philosophies and skills for communicating new concepts of health care.
Organization
Life University is a private, non-profit, nonsectarian, non-proprietary University organized as a 501(c)(3) institution governed by a Board of Trustees composed of no less than seven or more than 17 members. The Chief Executive Officer of the University is Dr. Guy Riekeman.
The University is organized into three colleges: the College of Chiropractic, the College of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies, and the College of Online Education. These Colleges are supported by the Vice President for Academic Affairs, Deans of the respective Colleges, and Associate and Assistant Deans, Division Chairs, Departmental Heads and Clinic Directors. There are also general administrative directors in various capacities: Alumni/Continuing Education; Advancement; Facilities Management; Finance; Human Resources; Information Technology; Learning Resources; Enrollment Management; Marketing; Institutional Effectiveness, Planning and Research; Faculty Affairs; Faculty Development; Student Administrative Services; and Student Affairs.
Policies and Position Statements
Non-Discrimination Policy
Life University complies with federal and state law and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, citizenship or veteran status. The University also prohibits sexual misconduct and gender-based harassment. This nondiscrimination policy applies to all practices at Life University, including admission to educational programs and activities, access to treatment, and to employment. Students who have inquiries regarding LIFE’s nondiscrimination policy may contact the Office of Student Affairs at 770-426-2700 or the Title IX Office at 770-426-2686.
Life University Disability Services
Life University is committed to providing equitable access to learning opportunities to students with documented disabilities (e.g., mental health, attentional, learning, chronic health, sensory, physical, etc.) from a qualified licensed professional (eligibility according to ADA, ADAA and Section 504) prior to receiving accommodations. To ensure access for this or any other class, please contact the Student Success Center (SSC) to engage in a conversation about the process for requesting reasonable accommodations in the classroom and other settings.
Harassment Statement
Life University reaffirms the principle that its students, staff, faculty and administration have a right to be free from harassment and sex-based discrimination. Harassment in any form, including, but not limited to, sex-based discrimination by or toward a member of the academic community, will not be tolerated.
Misrepresentation Statement
Life University prohibits misrepresentation of any kind on the part of its employees and/or representatives. The University expressly prohibits misrepresentation regarding the nature of its educational programs, the nature of financial charges, the employability of its graduates and its relationships with the Department of Education. Such misrepresentations are prohibited in all forms, including those made verbally, in writing and in promotional or marketing materials.
Accreditation, Memberships and Affiliations
Accreditation
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
Life University, Marietta, GA, is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award the associate, baccalaureate, master, and Doctor of Chiropractic degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur Georgia 30033-4097, call 404-679-4500, or visit www.sacscoc.org for questions about the accreditation of Life University.
Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE)
The Doctor of Chiropractic degree program, as part of Life University’s College of Chiropractic, is awarded programmatic accreditation by the Council on Chiropractic Education. 8049 N. 85th Way, Scottsdale, AZ 85258-4321, Phone: (480) 443-8877, www.cce-usa.org
Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND)
Life University’s Nutrition and Dietetics Education Program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2190, Chicago, IL 60606-6995, (312) 899-0040 ext. 5400. http://www.eatrightpro.org/ACEND.
Life University’s Dietetic Internship Program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2190, Chicago, IL 60606-6995, (312) 899-0040 ext. 5400. http://www.eatrightpro.org/ACEND.
Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE)
The Master of Athletic Training (MAT) degree program was given national accreditation with the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) in October 2014 (through 2020). The MAT is being re-structured and is planned to resume in 2022. 6836 Austin Center Blvd., Suite 250, Austin, TX 78731- 3193, 512.733.9700, http://caate.net.
Memberships
Life University retains membership within the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), the American Association of Collegiate Registrar’s and Admission Officers, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, Association of Chiropractic College, the American College Personnel Association, the Georgia Independent College Association, National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (SARA), and the American Council on Education.
Affiliations
Life University maintains cooperative working affiliations with state and national chiropractic associations, the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Cobb County Chamber of Commerce and The Better Business Bureau of Metropolitan Atlanta. It also participates in the Concurrent Admissions Program (Con AP), a program intended to greatly increase the number of veterans enrolled in college using GI Bill education benefits.
Life University, as a member of the Georgia Independent Colleges Association (GICA), is an active educational partner with the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) in providing educational opportunities for currently enrolled and prospective students of both TSCG and GICA member institutions. This partnership serves to facilitate a student’s eligibility to transfer select coursework without jeopardizing the intended mission and goals of the participating educational partner.
Public Service
Lasting Purpose
Life University’s guiding principle is Lasting Purpose: To live an inner-directed life, to give, to do, to love, to serve, out of your own abundance. It calls upon us to act from a place of gratitude and to use our gifts for the benefit of others. When we give, we receive, and then we give more. Living a life of Lasting Purpose creates a cycle of good that is continually perpetuating and amplifying itself.
Life University’s Expected Outcomes
Life University will provide support and promote community and public activities that offer awareness or understanding toward a vitalistic approach to health and optimum performance.
Personal Commitment
Increased involvement in public service has long been one of the highest priorities of Life University and part of its institutional purpose. LIFE intends to continue its public service commitment through its precepts of giving for the sake of giving, doing for the sake of doing, loving for the sake of loving, and serving for the sake of serving, not only throughout the world, but in the metropolitan Atlanta area, and particularly in the local Marietta community. LIFE will maintain its role of helping students and faculty members find their own particular way in integrating these precepts into their Life University education.
Instilling in each student a keen understanding of the meaning and value of public service is an important ingredient of the overall Life University education. Students learn through observing and then actually performing public service projects in the community.
Some of the areas in which students and faculty are involved include visiting the sick and elderly, providing assistance to the homeless, aiding abused children and battered women, conducting blood drives twice each year and assisting with the Special Olympics. Through these projects, students learn to help others without any thought of recompense. This giving of themselves carries out the true meaning of “Lasting Purpose.” In addition to service to their fellow man, students also participate in environmentally-oriented projects, which help preserve the planet for future generations. They aid in both cleaning up the community and in fostering the use of biodegradable products wherever possible.
Community Services
Life University is also committed to service through the following:
LIFE Center for Seniors
As a service to the community, Life University has opened its doors and heart to a new group of students — local area senior citizens. This membership program is called the LIFE Center for Seniors (LCS). For a minimal yearly membership fee, persons 55 or older, or those married to someone 55 or older, may join the LCS program. A membership offers seniors personal enrichment through fellowship, as well as the use of campus facilities and student rates on chiropractic care.
Wellness Programs
The Wellness Center offers state-of-the-art cardiovascular equipment, including stationary bikes, free weights and selected weight-training equipment. In cooperation with the City of Marietta, Life University has a five-mile jogging trail that wanders through the 110-acre campus and two city parks immediately adjacent to the campus.
Wellness Center — LIFE provides its students, faculty, staff and local visitors the use of modern, professionally-equipped training and fitness/wellness facilities, along with expertise on how to maximize their health. The center is undergoing a renovation that should be complete by the Summer or Fall 2020 Quarter.
Walking Trail — Because it meanders through the adjoining Wildwood and A.L. Burruss Parks, the five-mile walking trail also serves the local community as part of an agreement between Life University and the City of Marietta.
Center for Health and Optimum Performance (C-HOP)
The Center for Health and Optimum Performance (C-HOP), LIFE’s outpatient clinic, is located just inside the east entrance to the campus (1415 Barclay Circle). This 28,000 square-foot clinic, open to the public, is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and is fully staffed with chiropractors and board-certified specialists who serve as mentors to students. C-HOP services more than 60,000 patient visits per year with expert chiropractic care, nutritional counseling and functional kinesiology. Additionally, the Life University Community Outreach Chiropractic Clinic provides chiropractic care at no charge to economically disadvantaged patients and senior citizens.
Library
The Drs. Sid E. and Nell K. Williams Library is open to the public. Primary services include circulation of materials, bibliographic instruction (research methods) and access to computers for research and general Microsoft Office suite applications. Students can access the library’s online catalog through the LRC web page, as well as obtain full-text articles through the library’s memberships with GALILEO and the Atlanta Health Sciences Library Consortium. The library also subscribes to thousands of electronic monographs. It shares its resources with libraries internationally through an interlibrary loan program (ILP).
The Lights of LIFE
The public receives an invitation each year to a grand lighting and display of more than two million holiday lights. Over the years, exemplifying the spiritual side of life, this display has provided enjoyment to hundreds of thousands of people from throughout Georgia and the Southeast.
Sustainability
Life University is committed to being a sustainable college environment. All campus construction and renovation is performed to Gold Level standards as set forth by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the recognized authority in “green” building and construction. LIFE’s housing center, the LIFE Village Retreat, and Socrates Café have both been awarded Gold Level Certification by LEED.
Life University was a founding member of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment Circle, a nationwide initiative that began in 2007 to unite educational institutions in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint.
Student Right-to-Know Act
The Student Right-to-Know Act, enacted by Congress into law in 1990, requires all higher education institutions offering undergraduate academic programs and participating in Title IV student financial assistance programs to publish graduation or persistence rates for enrolled students. Life University falls into this classification and presents the following data in compliance with the statute.
First-to-Second Year Retention Rate (Fall 2017 Cohort)
Retention Rates
| Undergraduate first to second year retention: |
65% |
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Undergraduate cohort entering Fall 2018 and returned in Fall 2019
| Doctor of Chiropractic first to second year retention: |
96% |
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Retention rate for undergraduate cohort is derived from the previous year fall cohort of first-time, full-time freshmen who returned to the institution the subsequent fall and is stated in the Student Right-to-Know. Retention rate for the Doctor of Chiropractic Program is calculated from the previous fall cohort who returned to the Doctor of Chiropractic Program the subsequent fall quarter.
Retention Rate Definition
A measure of the rate at which students persist in their educational program at an institution, expressed as a percentage. For four-year institutions, this is the percentage of first-time bachelor’s (or equivalent) degree-seeking undergraduates from the previous fall who are again enrolled in the current fall. For all other institutions this is the percentage of first-time degree from the previous fall who either re-enrolled or successfully completed their program by the current fall. -Department of Education
Six-year Graduation Rate (Fall 2013 Cohort)
Graduation Rates
This annual component of IPEDS was added in 1997 to help institutions satisfy the requirements of the Student Right-to-Know legislation. Data are collected on the number of students entering the institution as full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students in a particular year (cohort), by race/ethnicity and gender; the number completing their program within 150 percent of normal time to completion; and the number that transfer to other institutions if transfer is part of the institution’s mission. -Department of Education
The Doctor of Chiropractic completion rate is calculated from the average of the last 8 quarters of students who have graduated within 21 quarters (150% graduation).
Through the University Catalog and the Department of Financial Aid, Life University disseminates to all enrolled students, and to prospective students upon request, information concerning the institution.
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