Australasian College of Health Sciences USA

Australasian College of Health Sciences (ACHS), based in Portland, Oregon, specializes in online holistic health distance education. Founded in 1978, ACHS is accredited by the [http://www.detc.org Distance Education and Training Council] and Approved by the Oregon Office of Degree Authorization.

Campus

In February of 2003, the Australasian College of Health Sciences opened its new campus in Portland, Oregon.

ACHS is located in the John’s Landing area, at 5940 SW Hood Avenue. John's Landing sits alongside the Willamette River. John’s landing is just five minutes drive from downtown Portland, Oregon. The campus lies two blocks from the Willamette, in a blended retail, residential, and commercial neighborhood.There are many restaurants and stores within a short walk of the College.

The Campus includes the Urban Herb garden, a demonstration garden that includes a self guided tour of native and non native herbs in an urban setting. The Urban Herb garden includes a small lavender "field" planted alongside the footpath. The herb garden is open to the public and is listed on several portland websites.

ACHS welcomes graduates, students, prospective students and visitors anytime during regular business hours. The phone number is 503-244-0726.

Academics

ACHS has four departments: Aromatherapy, Herbal Medicine, Holistic Health, and Dynamic Phytotherapy. ACHS offers four levels of programs: Continuing Education, Certificates, an Associate's Degree, and a Master's Degree as well as a Study Abroad program.

History

ACHS was originally founded in 1976 as the extramural or distance education department of an on campus naturopathic college in Auckland, New Zealand. Dorene Petersen, a graduate of the South Pacific College of Natural Therapeutics, was assigned head of the new department. In 1978, ACHS split off into a stand-alone institution to better meet the needs and goals of distance education students. Dorene Petersen became the head of the new institution.

The USA office opened in 1991 and is now owned and operated independently from the New Zealand school and has expanded exponentially since its inception. In 1998, ACHS achieved state licensing with the Oregon Department of Education, becoming the first state-licensed college in the US offering distance education programs in holistic medicine.

ACHS moved to its present campus in 2002. The Portland, Oregon campus features a botanical teaching garden, the Apothecary Shoppe College Store, and over convert|4500|sqft|m2 of custom-designed and accessible classroom and administrative offices.

In 2003, ACHS achieved national accreditation with the Distance Education and Training Council. ACHS offers the first and only accredited courses in aromatherapy and many other holistic medicine modalities. Also in 2003, a decision was made to change the name from the Australasian College of Herbal Studies to the Australasian College of Health Sciences to reflect the expanded curricula of holistic medicine education programs available at ACHS.

In 2007, ACHS was approved by the Oregon State Office of Degree Authorization to offer a Master of Science in Complementary Alternative Medicine. In 2008, ACHS was approved by the Oregon State Office of Degree Authorization to offer an Associate of Applied Sciences in Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

In 2008, ACHS received its five year reaccreditation from the Distance Education and Training Council along with accreditation for the new Associate of Applied Sciences in Complementary and Alternative Medicine and the Master of Science in Complementary Alternative Medicine.

ACHS is required to comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

External links

* [http://www.achs.edu Home page]
* [http://www.detc.org Distance Education Training Council]
* [http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/index.html Oregon State Office of Degree Authorization]
* [http://www.urbanherb.org Urban Herb Garden website]
* [http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html US Department of Education website FERPA guidelines]
* [http://www.youtube.com/achstv ACHS YouTube Channel]
* [http://holistictip.blogspot.com/ Holistic Tip Blog sponsored by ACHS]