NACIQI Rejects Renewal for Naturopathic Accreditor

The National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity voted against renewing recognition of the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education at its Wednesday meeting.

With several members absent, NACIQI voted 12 to 0 to reject the renewal bid, citing concerns about student outcomes. The accreditor attributed those outcomes to student demographics, noting that member institutions primarily enroll working adults, with an average age of 33, in programs accredited by CNME. The programmatic accreditor currently has six member institutions.

In the motion to recommend denial of recognition, NACIQI members wrote that the accreditor had “fundamentally compromised its integrity as a reliable authority on education quality by officially citing student demographics as justification for substandard program outcomes.”

Members also raised concerns about the accreditor’s financial position and heard from multiple speakers who urged NACIQI not to renew CNME’s recognition. Speakers complained about a lack of faculty expertise at member institutions and inadequate oversight and alleged that CNME-accredited colleges saddle students with heavy debt loads and lead to limited career prospects.

Others, speaking in support of CNME, argued that member institutions’ academic programs were rigorous and comparable to more conventional medical training and that debt concerns were systemic across the health-care field, not specific to the accreditor, and that denying recognition would harm patients.

The rare rejection, however, does not mean CNME has lost recognition. Now the matter will go to the Department of Education for a final determination. ED can deny recognition, as the committee recommended, recognize CNME over a shorter timeline, or override NACIQI.

CNME officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Inside Higher Ed.