Thirty years of chiropractic education at RMIT University: The consolidation period 1979 to 1999

This is the second paper in a series providing descriptive reportage of the history of the chiropractic education program now at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. The first paper examined the pre-establishment period before the program commenced in 1975 and the establishment from 1975 to 1978. This paper describes a 20-year span from 1979 to 1999 that the authors have termed the Consolidation Period. This period commenced with the first graduating classes from the new program in 1979 and ended with the resignation and departure from the program of Professor Andries Kleynhans in December 1999. During the period the ICC program cemented its relationship with Preston Institute, which underwent merger in 1982 to become Phillip Institute, which in turn underwent merger in 1992 to become RMIT University. All student places in the program became funded by government in 1982, and in 1984 the ACCE granted full unconditional member status to the program. In 1986 ACCE achieved reciprocity with CCE, and this led to the status of full international equivalency for the program. In retrospect, the 20-year Consolidation Period was a roller-coaster ride with highs such as accreditation, postgraduate students and the establishment of the Japan program, and lows that largely centred on staff workloads, an environment of constant change, and a sense of disempowerment and isolation from decision-making at many levels that affected the program.