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COMTA Alerts - September 2011

The Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation (COMTA) would like to bring your attention to the following announcements:

1)   As of August 1, 2011 we have recently launched our new website.  We are still currently progressing through with changes and edits to the website and we encourage for all viewers to provide any feedback and/or concerns about the website so that we can make the edits more user-friendly.  

2)   The COMTA Alerts and Actions can be found on the new website under “News and Alerts” and on the left hand side please select “Alerts and Actions”.

3)   As of September 1, 2011, Ms. Cheryl Rosen and Ms. Joanna Sechuck-Tringali have both resigned from the Practitioner positions with the COMTA Commission.  Many thanks to the both of them for their dedication to COMTA over the past year(s).  Their positions will be filled by appointment by the current Commissioners. Please see the “About COMTA” section of our website and select “Commissioner Elections” on the left hand side to view details about the selection process.

4)   Regarding questions about any changes to financial aid eligibility for COMTA institutions and programs, the Commission encourages schools to contact the U.S. Department of Education directly and receive clarification of how the changes affect them specifically, in writing. If there is something that the school needs written documentation from COMTA for solely due to the changes in financial aid regulations, COMTA will not be charging any fees for such changes or documentation. The information provided to COMTA from the federal representatives indicate that all massage programs, regardless of institution or accreditation type, are to be considered clock hour for financial aid purposes. COMTA will not be authorizing “outside work” or alternative credit conversions due to this information.   Please visit the menu option “News and Alerts” and on the left hand side select “COMTA News” and review the “COMTA Clock Hour Financial Aid Notice – May 2011” letter for more details.

5)   In other recent changes, the final regulations published in the Federal Register on October 29, 2010, required institutions to report certain information about students who enrolled in Title IV eligible educational programs that lead to gainful employment in a recognized occupation (GE programs).  Those regulations also provided that institutions must disclose to prospective students certain information about the institution’s GE Programs. Finally, the new regulations required institutions to notify the Department if they wish to add an additional GE Program to its list of Title IV eligible programs. All of these requirements became effective July 1, 2011.  Please visit the menu option “News and Alerts” and on the left hand side select “COMTA News” and review the “USDE Gainful Employment Program Disclosures – Sept. 2011” letter for more details.

6)   Criteria for COMTA accreditation of any Distance Education components are currently under revision by the Commission. The survey for public comment has been closed and the Commission is evaluating the feedback. In the interim, no applications for Distance Education components are being reviewed until the new criteria are finalized. The final wording of the new criteria is expected to be released following the October meeting of the Commission.

7)    For COMTA peer review volunteers and Commissioners (only) - please select the insurance coverage offered by the rental car agency while renting a car for a COMTA related visits.  COMTA will provide reimbursement.

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 has a new email address.

If you have comments regarding any of the schools on this list please write the COMTA office.  For additional information concerning this memorandum, please contact Kate Zulaski, Executive Director, at 202-895-1518, or via email at kzulaski@comta.org.  You may also email the chair of the Commission at chair@comta.org.