American Massage Therapy Association^®

Massage School Accrediting Body Receives USDE Recognition Joins Three Other CAM Accrediting Agencies

Evanston, IL – The Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation (COMTA) has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a specialized accrediting agency for massage therapy and bodywork programs and institutions.  COMTA is the only recognized accrediting agency focused solely on the quality of education for massage therapy and bodywork professionals, and joins accrediting bodies for chiropractic, osteopathy and acupuncture as the only agencies recognized by USDE to accredit programs that train professionals in fields termed complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).

According to the USDE, the goal of accreditation is to ensure that education provided by institutions of higher education meets acceptable levels of quality.  Therefore, COMTA’s acceptance will help raise the bar in massage therapy school accreditation.  “This recognition will help COMTA emphasize the importance of a best practices approach to massage education that ensures consistent education for massage therapists and quality services to consumers,” said Carole Ostendorf, COMTA Director. 

It also means that institutions accredited by COMTA will be eligible for Title IV funding and other financial aid programs, such as veteran’s benefits.

“The massage therapy profession has worked very hard to establish standards for entry-level massage therapist education,” said Carolyn Talley, president of the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA).  “AMTA funded the development of COMTA and continues to support it as it helps establish standards for massage therapy education,” said Talley.  “It is vital to ensure that the massage therapy profession continues to grow in terms of quality.”

COMTA began the process of achieving USDE recognition in 1997, and has been accrediting massage programs since 1992 and schools and institutions since 1996. 

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