Augustana College partnered with the Palmer College of Chiropractic to create a dual-degree chiropractic program. On April 24, the agreement was officially signed into action and announced to begin this fall.
Palmer College’s main campus is located in Davenport, Iowa, and enrolls approximately 2,000 students in its doctoral program across the college’s three campuses. According to their website, the college stands as the first and oldest chiropractic college in the world.
Associate Dean of Academic Strategic Priorities and Professor of Chemistry Greg Domski said the new program will consist of three years spent at Augustana and three and a third years at Palmer. After six and a third years, he said program students will earn both a Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology from Augustana College and a Doctor of Chiropractic from Palmer College.
To enroll in the program, Domski said students must uphold a GPA of 3.0 or higher and be a kinesiology major, along with obtaining a letter of recommendation from Augustana’s Division Dean of STEM, Jennifer Burnham. Accepted students will then be able to skip their fourth year at Augustana and complete the remainder of their degree requirements at Palmer, he said.
“It seemed like something that Augustana perhaps always should have had,” Domski said. “Being right across the river from Palmer, and Augustana having a highly respected academic profile on the Illinois side of the river…it just made sense to those folks at the executive level to look into seeing if we could make this partnership work.”
Director of Admissions at Palmer College, Erik Sellas, said that students will typically apply for the program in their first year at Augustana. Sellas said the program will benefit students interested in chiropractic by saving them time and money.
“In higher education, there is a big push for making sure that higher education is affordable for students and that they are able to timely graduate,” Sellas said. “Those are two issues that we’re always trying to solve.”
Upon acceptance, Sellas said students will work with both an Augustana academic advisor and Palmer Admissions Counselor, Emily Danger, to ensure they complete the program requirements.
Danger said that the biggest challenge for students in the program would be the transition from undergraduate study to graduate-level coursework. She said that to address this challenge, Palmer will offer students orientation programs, academic counseling and faculty mentorship.
“Once students transition from Augustana, they will be integrated into the Palmer community where they will receive hands-on training, advanced chiropractic science coursework and personalized support,” Danger said. “Our faculty and staff are committed to helping students make a seamless transition.”
Executive Vice President for Strategy and Innovation and Vice President of Enrollment and Communication, Kent Barnes, said in an email that he first met with representatives from Palmer College about the idea for the program in early December. Once Palmer confirmed their interest, he said Provost Dianna Shandy’s team took over.
Shandy said that the program was an opportunity to provide new pathways for students while staying in line with Augustana’s liberal arts values. She signed the new articulation agreement, along with Augustana’s President Andrea Talentino, Palmer’s Chancellor and CEO Dennis Marchiori and their Provost Dan Weinert.
“It brings fresh energy and possibility—especially in kinesiology and the health sciences—and reflects our commitment to offering rigorous, relevant experiences that prepare students for lives of impact,” Shandy said.
