Home / Academics / Programs / Chiropractic / NBCE and Completion Rates

NBCE and Completion Rates

Licensing Exam Performance

UWS students perform exceptionally well on licensure exams, including the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) exams specific to the United States. Successful completion of Parts I, II, III, and IV of the NBCE exams is necessary to become licensed in almost all U.S. licensing jurisdictions. International licensing requirements differ. 

The table below utilizes the reporting format required by the Council on Chiropractic Education® (CCE) for accreditation purposes. The table reports the number of students who graduated in each of the last four calendar years and how many passed either all parts of NBCE licensing exams or attained licensure within six months of graduation.

UWS exceeds the 80% threshold established by CCE Policy 56 for all four years reported. Graduates in 2020 and 2021 were impacted by COVID related delays that caused several students taking CCEB exams to get licensed more than 6 months after graduation. 

University of Western States Doctor of Chiropractic Program Licensure Rates
Calendar Year
(Last Four Years)
Number of Graduates Number of Graduates Passing All Parts of licensing exams* or are licensed to practice chiropractic within six (6) months of post-graduation Percentage of Graduates Passing All Parts of licensing exams* or are licensed to practice chiropractic within six (6) months of post-graduation
2021 162 146 90.1%
2022 152 135 88.8%
2023 169 154 91.1%
2024 132 117 88.6%
4-Year Totals 615 552 89.8%

*NBCE Parts I, II, III , and IV or CCED Components A, B, and C


DC Program Completion Rates

The table below utilizes the reporting format required by the Council on Chiropractic Education® (CCE) for accreditation purposes. The table reports the number of students who started the program over a two-year period and how many completed their program within 150% of the published program length (normal program length is 12 quarters; 150% is 18 quarters).

UWS exceeds the 70% threshold established by CCE Policy 56 for the most recent reporting cycle.

University of Western States Doctor of Chiropractic Program Completion Rates
Normal Length of Program: 12 Quarters
Column A Column B Column C Column D Column E
Entrance Term # of Students Matriculated in Entrance Term Term 18 Quarters After Entrance Term # Students in Column A Who Graduated by Term in Column C Completion Rate at the 150th Percentile
Winter 2019 47 Spring 2023 44 93.6%
Fall 2019 121 Winter 2024 110 90.9%
Winter 2020 46 Spring 2024 43 93.5%
Fall 2020 132 Winter 2025 116 87.9%
2-YR TOTAL 346   313 90.5%