Private nonprofit

Life Chiropractic College West

Hayward, California·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Far West·lifewest.edu
Total enrollment
618
peer median 636
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About

Life Chiropractic College West is a private chiropractic school with locations in Hayward, California, and Bellevue, Nebraska, US, known for its Doctor of Chiropractic degree program. Founded as Pacific States Chiropractic College in 1976 by George E. Anderson, the name was changed in 1981 to its current form after a merger with Life Chiropractic College.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

Of 2 Title IV programs, 0 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 1 fails. 1 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
2
Passing
0
0.0% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
1
50.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
50.0%
+49.4pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

2programs
  • Passing0 · 0.0%
  • No Data1 · 50.0%
  • Failing1 · 50.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
1
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
0
No data
1

Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.

Earnings premium gap

Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.

1
Chiropractic
First Professional Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
-9.6%
$55,900 vs $61,854

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

1
Chiropractic
First Professional Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
367%
$205,300 debt · $55,900 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

WASC Senior College and University Commission

Accredited since 2017Next review Feb 2029
PreaccreditedInstitutional accreditor

WASC Senior College and University Commission

Accredited since 2015
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Council on Chiropractic Education, Commission on Accreditation

Accredited since 1987

Programmatic accreditations · 1

Action history · 4

  1. Feb 2023Renewal of Accreditation
    WASC Senior College and University Commission
  2. Jan 2019Renewal of Accreditation
    Council on Chiropractic Education, Commission on Accreditation · Chiropractic (CHIRO) - Programs leading to the D.C. degree
  3. Jul 2018Grant Substantive Change: Degree
    WASC Senior College and University Commission
  4. Jul 2017Loss of Accreditation or Preaccreditation: Voluntary Withdrawal
    Council on Chiropractic Education, Commission on Accreditation

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

In AY 2024–25, students received in Pell grants, alongside $22.2M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
null total
Direct Loans
$22.2M
822 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

0k
20
0k
21
0k
22
0k
23
0k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Unsubsidized · Grad$14.7M
493 loan awards
Grad PLUS$7.4M
329 loan awards

Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Of 161 borrowers who entered repayment, 1 (0.6%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
0.6%
-1.7pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
161
Defaulted
1
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
1.9%
2017
3.2%
2018
0.0%
2019
0.6%
2020*
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at Lifewest

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs2
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

170 total completions
01Health Professions
170100.0%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

Fall total
618
12-mo unduplicated
748

Gender split

Men
56%420
Women
44%328

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
8.52
5 offenses · 587 students

3-year trend

1.672 yrs ago0.001 yr ago8.52Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
6
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
0
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Motor vehicle theft
5

By location

5total
  • On campus5

VAWA offenses

0
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
0
Stalking
0 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons00
Drugs00
Liquor00

Residence-hall fires

No residence-hall fires reported.

Data quality: 1 report was later determined unfounded across the reporting period and are excluded from the totals above.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Lifewest vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Lifewest selected for federal comparison reporting.

GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
This institutionPeer median

A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

Carnegie
SubjectLife Chiropractic College West
618
Marshall B Ketchum University
653
The Wright Institute
518
The Chicago School at Anaheim
523
Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science
30%38.7%852$27,789
Palo Alto University
1,065
Peer group median30%38.7%636$27,789

Lifewest Institutional Research office

The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.

Office
Office of Institutional Research & Assessment
Address
25001 Industrial Blvd. Hayward, CA 94545

The Office of Institutional Research and Assessment serves the Life Chiropractic College West community by providing access to quality data, analytical capabilities, and decision-making support to promote the continuous improvement of our students’ learning, experiences and broader institutional effectiveness.

Visit IR office page

Reports & documents (2)

Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.

Notable alumni of Lifewest (3)

A curated list of alumni recognized for notable achievements across industries.

  • Devereaux Ferris
  • Huluholo Moungaloa
  • Diane Sabin

Frequently asked questions about Life Chiropractic College West

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Lifewest.

How many students attend Life Chiropractic College West?

Life Chiropractic College West reports a total enrollment of 618 students per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Life Chiropractic College West located?

Life Chiropractic College West is located in Hayward, California 94545-2570.

Who runs Institutional Research at Life Chiropractic College West?

Life Chiropractic College West's IR work is done by the Office of Institutional Research & Assessment.

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