Apollo Has Not Filed Application Accreditation Not Sought For Radiology Tech Program

Apollo College in Spokane has not applied for accreditation of its $9,000-per-year radiology program, putting students at risk of not landing the kind of job they may want after graduation.

The new vocational school alerted students in a December memo that Apollo was “in the process of obtaining accreditation from the Joint Review Committee on Education and Radiologic Technology,” a national board that sets standards for training students to give X-rays, administer ultrasounds and use imaging and radioactive equipment.

But Dr. Jordan Wrenner, chairman of the Joint Review Committee in Chicago, said Thursday that Apollo has yet to apply for accreditation. An application would trigger an exhaustive review by the JRC that can take up to two years to complete.

“I can tell you that they have not been accredited by the JRC and they have not applied for accreditation with the JRC,” Wrenner said.

Marge Carlson, owner of the Phoenix-based chain of Apollo colleges, said that “you have to be an existing program to get accredited, and all the students are aware of this.”

But some radiology students and their parents are upset that Apollo did not tell them about its accreditation status before students enrolled last fall, and led them to believe that an application had been made to the JRC.

“It rubs me the wrong way,” said one parent who requested anonymity while negotiating for a refund with Apollo. “This is something that we should have been told up front. I want them to put something in writing that we will have something to show for our $18,000 investment.”

Apollo students raised questions about accreditation of the radiology program this week after The Spokesman-Review reported that the private school’s program for pharmacy technicians didn’t have state approval.

Apollo has offered full refunds to pharmacy students who drop out; those who remain must wait until the state Board of Pharmacy meets Feb. 24 to learn if Apollo’s pharmacy technician program will be approved retroactive to last September. If not, students will lose six months of work and have to start over at another school.

Radiology students said they were told to sign the December memo or be asked to leave. The memo states that they understood that they could not receive state certification as a radiologic technologist until Apollo was first accredited. The memo was distributed at least six weeks after students had enrolled and classes begun.

About 20 students initially enrolled in the program, but students said the number has since dropped to eight. The two-year program costs $18,000.

Problems surrounding pharmacy and radiology may not affect Apollo’s other health-related programs, including dental assisting and medical assisting. Apollo, located at 1101 N. Fancher Drive, has 125 to 135 students.

Tracy Hansen, manager of the state Department of Health’s radiologic technologists program, said graduates of non-accredited programs can register in Washington as X-ray technicians. Currently, she said, there are 1,500 people registered in the state.

But certification as a radiologic technologist requires a degree from a school accredited by the JRC, Hansen said. More than 3,100 people hold that certification in Washington.

Certification also can open the doors to advance programs in nuclear medicine and radiation therapies, Hansen said.

“Most facilities would pay more to get a certified rad tech,” she said.

If accredited by the JRC, Apollo would be one of only six programs in the state, including Holy Family Hospital in north Spokane, according to the Health Department.