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Success Rates in Massage Schools
Julie Onofrio touched on this subject in her forum about therapists getting younger. It is a hot button for me so I thought I would begin the toppic. She pointed out how drop out rates in massage schools seem to be high compared to other industries. I strongly agree with that observation.
I have always contended that the ones making money in massage are the massage schools. Massage schools are popping up everywhere for good reason, they make money. I believe the reason drop out rates are so high is massage schools have no incentive to screen applicants for suitability in our industry. On the contrary, their goal is to put as many students into a class as they possibly can.
Remembering back to my own class, we started with at least 17 students. I think 9 were left at the completion of the course. To the best of my knowledge, I was the only student who went on to become certified to practice massage therapy. 1 person out of 17 students. This dismal performance doesn't affect the school. They still receive the tuition from the students, or have the right to pursue that tuition whether the student completes certification or not. To this date, I do not believe there are any standards set, or an official organization that monitors completion rates of students that take massage therapy courses. Most accrediting organizations look at pass/failure rates. Even if a student passes the course, it does not guarantee they go on to pass the NCE that is required by many states.
I was apalled in my class when it came time to learn about feet. We lost 3 students that day, people who refused to touch feet. Don't people realize what they are getting into when they sign up to become a massage therapist? Some careful screening could have saved those students a lot of time and tuition money. Yet, the school administration is not motivated to lose potential tuition money, is it?
Has anyone else had similar experiences during their education? Does anyone have suggestions on how this situation can be improved? It causes me to consider opening up my own school and work to build the school's reputation as the school with the highest success rate and produces the better therapists. Wouldn't that make sense? Wouldn't that attract more students who are serous about learning this craft?
Ok, I'm through ranting and will step down.
Peace
I have always contended that the ones making money in massage are the massage schools. Massage schools are popping up everywhere for good reason, they make money. I believe the reason drop out rates are so high is massage schools have no incentive to screen applicants for suitability in our industry. On the contrary, their goal is to put as many students into a class as they possibly can.
Remembering back to my own class, we started with at least 17 students. I think 9 were left at the completion of the course. To the best of my knowledge, I was the only student who went on to become certified to practice massage therapy. 1 person out of 17 students. This dismal performance doesn't affect the school. They still receive the tuition from the students, or have the right to pursue that tuition whether the student completes certification or not. To this date, I do not believe there are any standards set, or an official organization that monitors completion rates of students that take massage therapy courses. Most accrediting organizations look at pass/failure rates. Even if a student passes the course, it does not guarantee they go on to pass the NCE that is required by many states.
I was apalled in my class when it came time to learn about feet. We lost 3 students that day, people who refused to touch feet. Don't people realize what they are getting into when they sign up to become a massage therapist? Some careful screening could have saved those students a lot of time and tuition money. Yet, the school administration is not motivated to lose potential tuition money, is it?
Has anyone else had similar experiences during their education? Does anyone have suggestions on how this situation can be improved? It causes me to consider opening up my own school and work to build the school's reputation as the school with the highest success rate and produces the better therapists. Wouldn't that make sense? Wouldn't that attract more students who are serous about learning this craft?
Ok, I'm through ranting and will step down.
Peace
Views: 421
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Mike Hinkle on
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All professions have similiar stories. When I went to cosmetology school in CA, We started with 33 in our class and 6 graduated. Two of us passed the practical/written tests and went on to work.
Schools have to survive and with the economy getter tougher, I doubt they'll do much "screening". And then what about the other side of screening, "profiling". What if they had said, "Mike, you know, you are past your production days, you have a bad back and we just don't think you will finish the course. Keep your money and you'll be better off." Yeah, right. And what about the issue raised by Julie, they are too young? We can not ever allow anyone to tell us we are either too young or too old. There would not be the World Massage Festival & Massage Therapy Hall of Fame still.
Now, I agree there are a lot of schools that overplay how much money the average therapists make. And schools all the way to doctorate, will continue to over register students. Some will find their way and some will move on. Please don't blame the schools for giving people the chance to prove they can do the job.
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Permalink Reply by Susan G. Salvo on
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In most other health care professions, there is a 4 year+ span of time in which a student enters school and then the profession.
This student has a fairly long span of time before he or she actually enters the profession.
Most massage schools are about a year and the student, in comparison, has a brief amount of time in which to decide.
Often, the student is over half way through the program when she decides that this is “not for her.”
Very often, she just completes the program, but never enters the profession.
This gives the impression of a high drop out rate.
This training time length is rarely factored into to the argument.
With that said, not everyone who goes through massage school enters or remains the profession, but I have NEVER met anyone who regretted going through massage school.
My massage school experience was the best year of my life and I am grateful for that.
As an aside, about half of the individuals who graduated with me who obtained their baccalaureate in education are actually teaching.
I agree with Mike, the phenomenon is not unique to massage.
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Permalink Reply by Marissa on
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I have to put my two cents in on this one. ;) Like Susan, I had a phenomenal time during my massage training. The school I went to did do a "screening", so to speak. In order to register, you had to write an essay describing what you thought the profession entailed, what was driving you to enter massage school, and what you were looking to get out of the training. Only one graduating class per year allowed with a maximum of 25 students. My class was a full 25 and all women. That was a powerful thing to be a part of. Each and every one of us graduated, became Nationally Certified and to my knowledge are still in the profession. Regretably, the school is no longer operating. I've seen a lot of posts that are bemoaning the fact that a lot of schools are just floating right over the instinctual/healing part of this professsion. We probably could use a few more schools like the one I atteneded. As to the feet thing, I've seen a lot of other students drop out after the full significance of what we do overrides the "glamor" of the field. We should probably have mandatory mentoring after graduation to "weed" out possible liabilites. That sounds odd and slightly harsh, but could save a lot of heartache in the end. I learned two things after graduation. One, all those willing bodies for "practice" disappear. And two, a physical therapist informed me that it took her 8 years to get a continuously "full" schedule due to referrals from orthos, physicians, coaches, etc. It is a lot of hard work that takes all you have in you to succeed. That is something that is not "drilled in" during training.
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Permalink Reply by Faye Scott Tackett on
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Too often we quickly make an opinion without reviewing both sides of the coin. I am the Director of a massage therapy program for a proprietary school. We have had the highest consectutive ranking since the program started (5+ years) in our schools for program retention averaging 80+ percent annually.
We do not pack our classes. Following state and national guidelines, any massage class that is over twenty students must have 2 teachers present. We prefer 20 or less in hands on classes. Only in our science or Business classes do we allow more and even then it is usually about 25 people, so by college standards our classes are small. We do have an approved entry exam, but because we have student funding, the Federal Government has set the pass/fail class lower than we would prefer and we have no say on who may or may not enter our program if they pass the entry test.
Also, we cannot deny entry to anyone because of a felony or misdemeanor because we have federal funding, and they say we must except whomever passes the entry test. We do provide a lot of information to our perspective students about both the legal aspects and the difficulty of the program and passing the National. In their very first Intro to MT class, they are given written material regarding our school, state and National rules and regulation. We go over this in the class and they also sign a contract acknowledging that they understand what they have received and discussed. It doesn't stop there, we go over this info throughout the program and refer to it in our Professional Ethics, Business and all courses again and again. We have a clinic internship that is set up to make sure their National Test is paid for and they will soon be participating in a national Test Practicing program. Keep in mind that if we don't do well, not just looking at finances, but looking at student success, our program is shut down by the company and our accrediting agency.
We work very hard as instructors offering tutoring programs and assistance to help our students successfully complete the program and pass the national. We usually rank in the same range of both the state and the national pass rates. We feel that the national tests are the biggest problem, because they have not standardized their test and only recently seem to be r3cognizing that National Pass rates of 60% or less may be the fault of the test and review materials rather then the schools who are franctically trying to figure what they are testing. They say you must have attended a school of 500 or more hours to take the test. There is no way a 500 hour program could offer enough information in that period of class time to the majority of students to pass. Our own progrqm is 1020 including some general ed courses and we still have students not pass.
We feel there should be 2 forms of the national tests: 1 that focuses on Spa and Relaxation and 1 that focuses on medical. This would allow schools to have a better focus on there programs and students to have a decision on what modality they want to pursue. We have a good placement average of our students. Propriatary schools have to have Career services for their students and we have to show we are meeting placement requirements. State schools do not have to show placement. I went to a state school and no one ever even approached me about placement. If your school is a diploma program at the state level, then you can't offer federal funding. With a little bit of research you can see that privste and public schools have different rules and regulations in a number of areas.
I have some of the best instructors you can find. That is very important! We are all approved by the state department of educational to teach. We all have advanced degrees and are experienced in teaching. We believe that the prioblem lies in the testing proceedure and the lack of the national testing services NOT developing our tests towad what we are teaching, but making us teach to a tst without clear program guidelines standardizing the educational material and program development across the board depending on program focus.
I would like to hear from you! Faye Tackett MA, NCTMB
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Susan- I'm glad no one pushed me out of the nest either! I think we all have "unflattering" moments for a couple years after graduation. (Just check out the "Bloopers Group). I did not mean "US" as a profession weeding out the MTs, but themselves. That first year is brutal, but making it through is an acheivement. As for the school I attended, I don't know if they ever refused enrollment. Having to write that essay was a real eye-opener that could have affected enrollment.
Faye- You bring up an interesting point about having 2 separate tests for two separate aspects of this profession. However, I have to ask: What about those that are not sure which direction they want to persue? Would taking one test limit them to what they could do in the future? And if they did an abrupt turn-around and decided to persue the other side, would they have to go through an entirely different school program to be able to make that change? I'm intrigued.
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Permalink Reply by Le Murray on
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Well, all I can speak to is the now...I am currently in school. So far we have only lost 1 out of the 10 that started with my class...she was out the first week and we are now 5.5 months in (out of an 8th month course). I do notice that there are some "kids" who do not seem to take it very seriously--I wondered about this ESPECIALLY after they said they had never had a professional massage before attending school...WT???? Perhaps they just lack maturity and direction....I do notice those of us who are older take it a lot more seriously. The school is fairly (Less than a year old) new but all who have taken their MBLx have passed and of those who have received their license most have found jobs. Our school is 700 hours--200 more hours than what the state requires---I think that weeds out a few people right there.
As for screening, I think the more the better on the front end. I can't BELIEVE people would walk out over feet! It is hard to know what anyones motivation is but at least let them know what they are getting into.
On the current school note, we are using Susan Salvo's book as our main text---everyday..."get out your Salvo!" or "I left my Salvo in the Lab!"...so if you ever want some feedback on the text, just let me know! For the most part it has been a great resource.
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I hope you like the text.
I am working on the fourth edition now and would love your suggestions for additions/revisions. Student/teacher comments are sooo important to the revision process.
Le Murray said:Well, all I can speak to is the now...I am currently in school. So far we have only lost 1 out of the 10 that started with my class...she was out the first week and we are now 5.5 months in (out of an 8th month course). I do notice that there are some "kids" who do not seem to take it very seriously--I wondered about this ESPECIALLY after they said they had never had a professional massage before attending school...WT???? Perhaps they just lack maturity and direction....I do notice those of us who are older take it a lot more seriously. The school is fairly (Less than a year old) new but all who have taken their MBLx have passed and of those who have received their license most have found jobs. Our school is 700 hours--200 more hours than what the state requires---I think that weeds out a few people right there.
As for screening, I think the more the better on the front end. I can't BELIEVE people would walk out over feet! It is hard to know what anyones motivation is but at least let them know what they are getting into.
On the current school note, we are using Susan Salvo's book as our main text---everyday..."get out your Salvo!" or "I left my Salvo in the Lab!"...so if you ever want some feedback on the text, just let me know! For the most part it has been a great resource.
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Permalink Reply by Hillary Kate Arrieta on
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I was just reading through and would like to comment. When I first started teaching, a very wise person said to me "you'll be alright if you realize that not everyone who enters your class room will enter the massage field." At first I was put off by the negative suggestion but as I got more experience with the job, it came as a great relief. You can't control everything.
It is not right for us to decide who gets to become a massage therapist. We should offer the chance to everyone who is willing and able to put in the hard work and be successful. Everyone deserves a chance to make their lives as rich and full as they choose. With that being said, not everyone can fulfill the requirements of the program or the career- whether it be physically or mentally. Being a MT is hard work and not for everyone! I think we do a pretty good job of laying everything out on the table during our orientation. Screening and discussing all the aspects of the training is very different than actually participating in a hands on swedish tech class. I don't think students understand it until they experience it first hand- (massaging feet and glutes is an issue in my class)
Massage school is a time for developing self awareness and some times students can't deal with everything that comes with developing those kind of skills. I'm sure everyone can recall at least one student in your basic massage class that had a meltdown during some part of the training. I think it's okay for students to choose to not enter the profession after they have graduated. I always try to encourage people to finish the program- finishing what we start is a very important skill in life. And in the end, massage school may have opened up new doors for them or inspired them to do something else. Either way, it's all good.
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Permalink Reply by Kevin Pierce on
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Gerry, I share in your concern for the drop out rates. However, that is all the more reason not to allow unregulated Massage Schools to keep doing that kind of business. I love the smaller schools that are not acssociated with a corporate structure due to their personal approach, but being a part of a corporate school myslef, there are regulations in place that benefit students and the consumers through preventing the school from continuing to operate poorly or to crank out grads that do not get their licenses. It's called accreditation. Most if not all Nationally Accredited schools have to show very high completion and placement rates (80% or higher) or they lose their accreditation. That means they lose funding and credibility. There is plenty of room for improvement in the corporte MT School system and the Accrediting bodies that oversee them, but as therapists, we must promote high standards of accountability both from ourselves and the schools that operate within our profession. For a school to have a 5% success rate is not showing accountability or even reliability. Someone should hold the administration of that school more responsible for outcomes. I think that will go a long way to address your concern. Any thoughts? KP
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Kevin, there is another side to the accreditation issue (and quite interesting, I must say).
Will talk more with you about it later.
Kevin Pierce said:Gerry, I share in your concern for the drop out rates. However, that is all the more reason not to allow unregulated Massage Schools to keep doing that kind of business. I love the smaller schools that are not acssociated with a corporate structure due to their personal approach, but being a part of a corporate school myslef, there are regulations in place that benefit students and the consumers through preventing the school from continuing to operate poorly or to crank out grads that do not get their licenses. It's called accreditation. Most if not all Nationally Accredited schools have to show very high completion and placement rates (80% or higher) or they lose their accreditation. That means they lose funding and credibility. There is plenty of room for improvement in the corporte MT School system and the Accrediting bodies that oversee them, but as therapists, we must promote high standards of accountability both from ourselves and the schools that operate within our profession. For a school to have a 5% success rate is not showing accountability or even reliability. Someone should hold the administration of that school more responsible for outcomes. I think that will go a long way to address your concern. Any thoughts? KP
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Permalink Reply by Gerry Bunnell on
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Kevin,
Many of my co-students passed the course, so the school meets their accredidation quota. Does NCE send a pass notice to the school? I am not sure how schools or regulators track the passing of the NCE exam with the school attended so how can that be made a factor in accredidation?
Faye, your school sounds exactly the kind of school I would choose to attend. I was faced with a lack of options at the time I attended school.
Susan, I did have the benefit of your book through school. It is what helped me pass the National. THANK YOU!
Peace
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Awesome - you made my day!
PS - Gerry, I love your comments on different topics - keep sharing.
Gerry Bunnell said:Kevin,
Many of my co-students passed the course, so the school meets their accredidation quota. Does NCE send a pass notice to the school? I am not sure how schools or regulators track the passing of the NCE exam with the school attended so how can that be made a factor in accredidation?
Faye, your school sounds exactly the kind of school I would choose to attend. I was faced with a lack of options at the time I attended school.
Susan, I did have the benefit of your book through school. It is what helped me pass the National. THANK YOU!
Peace
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