A 501(C)(3) Non-Profit Organization

 

Dear Graduates and Community Members:

During 2005, Healing Touch Institute will close its Private Proprietary School. We are now completing exams and externship reviews for students enrolled in the Massage Therapy Certification Program. 

The decision to close, after more than twelve years of successful operation, has been difficult. Our organization filled a valuable niche in the northeast. Affordable tuition and small Core classes helped many qualified individuals earn Certification and establish careers. For those who challenged their physical and learning limits, or who encountered unexpected life events, the process and the program supported personal growth and self-healing. Graduates are successfully practicing massage therapy in settings ranging from professional sports teams, chiropractic offices, spas, hospitals to private practices–even to providing massage therapy for the White House!

For many years, word-of-mouth “advertising” drew sufficient enrollment. In recent years, our website together with Introductory Workshops (and some community outreach) expanded our visibility. Students were attracted to the small class sizes and quality of instruction. They paid a moderate tuition using a monthly payment plan, making it possible for graduates to enter into practice without having to repay student loans. 

 During the last year, several private career organizations launched Massage Therapy Programs, changing the private occupational education landscape. These organizations have multiple locations, budgets for advertising on television and in other media, as well as access to federal funds for student loans. Prospective students now have many opportunities to find classes close to home, and--perhaps because of today’s uncertain financial climate--they also perceive they need loans. These new programs challenge the ability of small schools to remain visible and adequately enroll students.

The Board and I researched many options for obtaining student loans and supporting school operations.  Staff, students, and the IMSTAC Accreditation Council agreed that our program curricula and graduate statistics were excellent. However, our unique features—lower tuition and small class sizes--made it difficult for us to qualify for loans for students, or to meet steadily increasing program and advertising costs.  The Board recognized that we would need to make substantial operational changes to remain viable as a Private Proprietary School. Ultimately, if we were to significantly increase tuition and student-to-teacher ratio, the changed character of the program would be incongruent with our mission to provide affordable tuition and to maintain individual attention to learning needs. 

Finally, my ability to support the school bond (required for all licensed proprietary schools) has changed. Some of you know that, although I don't own Healing Touch (non-profit organization s cannot be owned) I maintained the school bond with personal assets (my home). During this year, my well was contaminated with trichloroethylene, leaving me without water for months and threatening to damage my property value. Whereas I might have spent years in court pleading for clean water, I have been more fortunate. The company that allegedly released the contaminants has denied responsibility; another party in town paid more than a million dollars to extend the town water line to my home and neighboring properties. My well will be pumped for several years to “clean-up” the groundwater and prevent further migration of the contaminant. If the school, were to continue, the Board would be faced with finding other assets to support the unearned tuition bond.

Still financially stable due to full enrollment and excellent retention during 2003-2004, the Board recognized that classes scheduled to begin during fall 2004 and winter 2005 were under-enrolled. To start these classes would be to risk closure while students were still progressing through the program. We voted unanimously to complete all currently enrolled students and dedicate our remaining financial resources to storing records, providing phone and Internet contact and providing graduate transcripts and other records for the next 7 years (the minimum time required by law). 

 Healing Touch Institute will no longer employ me; I will, as a volunteer, continue to provide transcripts for graduates. As per the student handbook, transcripts will be $20 checks or money orders made out to "Healing Touch Institute."; Please mail to: L. ELFMAN, BUILDING C / SUITE 12-C / 159 MAIN STREET, STONEHAM,  MA  02180-1658.  Payment must be received before transcript or other records will be released (a certified bank or cashiers check will speed the process). Please allow at least two to three weeks for your request to be fulfilled. 

We will do our best to maintain the same e-mail and website address for as long as possible, and to give advance notice when changing contact information. Should you lose contact with us in the future, please visit the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Private Proprietary School Division website (http://www.doe.mass.edu/ops/) for contact information.

Graduates, Community Externship Partners, Instructors and Staff—the Board members and I thank you for being a part of, or a partner with, Healing Touch Institute. We have loved being your school and will always treasure memories of working with you. We wish you continued good health, great happiness and abundant success.

Susanne Carol Wissell, Director 1998-2005