AIMC responds to PIHMA Closure: A Path Forward for Phoenix Students
- Diane Stanley
- 9 hours ago
- 6 min read
The sudden closure of Phoenix Institute of Herbal Medicine & Acupuncture (PIHMA) left students, faculty, and patients in an abrupt and deeply disruptive position. For many students, years of training were interrupted overnight—without a clear path to completion. Abrupt school closures expose a hard truth about integrative healthcare education: when a school fails, students absorb the consequences, and they are left to figure out if and how to continue their path to becoming acupuncturists.
AIMC's Approach to Closing Schools
When AOMA Graduate School of Medicine closed abruptly, AIMC saw an opportunity for a new model and to fulfill a significant role in service of the profession.
Austin, TX became the first step toward the achievement of a new, innovative model for acupuncture education: A hybrid model with centralized resources and curated offerings onsite across two locations: Berkeley, CA and Austin, TX. At AIMC, the locations are not independent branches. They are locations of one school. We offer a shared curriculum and online delivery of didactic education across locations, allowing for some of the best faculty across the country to teach our students. We offer hands-on practical skills and clinical training onsite in our locations with small faculty to student ratios for boutique style experience and guidance. Austin, TX was our first additional location to bring this vision to life, and we've been successful.
But what about alumni? When a school closes, how do you get a transcript? Who do you ask for enrollment verification? How do you achieve verification that your curriculum met certain requirements? When a school closes, these questions are often met with a void or a tenuous process of requesting records from the state. Being Custodian of Record for a closing acupuncture school means we can support with these requests. Being an acupuncture school ourselves means we are able to understand the needs of alumni with these kinds of records requests.
We serve as the custodian of record for AOMA Graduate School of Integrative Medicine (AOMA), Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (OCOM), and American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ACTCM). We view them as OUR alumni, and we offer them all of the alumni benefits of AIMC along with records support.
When PIHMA Closed
When PIHMA announced its closure, we felt we were well underway to proving that our hybrid model worked. With high student morale in Austin, successful site visits from ACAHM to validate our new spaces, and exceptional board scores, we felt we were ready to do it all over again.
Could we be Custodian of Record?
According to the State of Arizona, all records for students and alumni of PIHMA must be handed over to the state for handling and management. Unfortunately, AIMC could not become the custodian of record in this case, but we did offer.
How does a Teach-out work?
A "teach-out" can mean many things, and it depends on the receiving institution. Essentially, it is a modified version of the typical transfer process for that institution. To modify your published processes as an institution, the institution will go through an approval process with accreditors for a waiver to do things differently. A key facet for acupuncture students is whether or not students who are beyond the 50% threshold for their program can potentially transfer all of their credits for comparable curriculum. There are other layers, such as the waiving of fees and whether or not courses are truly comparable. Different schools have different processes for dealing with differences in curriculum.
Could we move toward AIMC | Berkeley, Austin, & Pheonix?
We're trying to do just that!
When a school closes, the timeline is tight! It involves a great deal of applications, detailed compliance work, and collaboration between multiple entities. First, we needed to apply to operate in the state of Arizona. Based on the number of students we estimated could be in the hazard of being over 50% in their program, we estimated we would need through December 2027 to serve the most students who were at risk. If there is demand for an ongoing presence of AIMC in Pheonix, we could continue to pursue the necessary approvals to exist longer term.
Where we stand in the approvals process as of April 16th, 2026:
Institutional licensing application submitted to the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education
Decision expected following the April 23, 2026 board meeting
ACAHM approval pending decision from the state of Arizona
Phoenix-area clinical site (Chandler) identified and a sublease is in formation
We are nearing the end of the approvals process to start our journey in Arizona and we have a great clinical space lined up that some of the students are already familiar with and love.
How are we lowering the friction of transition for PIHMA students?
Let’s be blunt: transferring schools after an abrupt closure can be very stressful and confusing. In heightened stress, it's difficult to internalize all of the labels and terminology. We’ve attempted to remove as much friction as possible for PIHMA students looking to transfer to AIMC by offering:
No application fees
No transcript evaluation fees
No transfer fees
Free required review courses
Free audits of transferred classes
Every student receives an individualized course crosswalk, so prior work is preserved, not repeated unnecessarily. We are completing these for all interested students regardless of whether they have fully completed an application. Where there are significant differences in the hours devoted to topics within the curriculum, paths for remediation are identified, such as "required review." Instead of forcing full course repetition, AIMC uses a model called Required Review. No busywork. No redundant semesters. Just verification that you’re ready to move forward
In Required Review, students...
Access full course materials and lecture recordings
Complete quizzes and exams
Demonstrate competency with a passing score
All on their own timeline within the term. They can attend live like a regular student or watch recordings and complete assignments at their leisure.
What about financial aid?
Financial aid disruption is one of the biggest risks in situations like this. As students meet with advisors, advisors identify whether students need assistance with financial aid. From there, Luke Chen, our financial aid officer works with the students. Students will need to send over their FAFSA to AIMC. Recent federal policy changes may allow some students to continue borrowing under existing limits, but details are still evolving. Financial aid borrowing requests span 2 terms at AIMC. With initiation of a new loan, the paperwork can cause some delays, but financial aid disbursements are given to students the second week of the term.
How are we making the herbal curriculum accessible?
At PIHMA, many students hadn't planned to pursue the herbal curriculum. Depending on where you wish to practice, herbal education might be required but not always. However, if not achieved during school, it's not always easy to find an herbal-only program located and offered in a manner that works for you later. AIMC offers a Masters and Doctorate of Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine. To support PIHMA students, AIMC will offer an accelerated herbal track in which students can complete their herbal curriculum and clinical hours by fall of 2027. It's not an all or nothing track, though. Students can always start accelerated and slow down if desired.
What about after December 2027?
The timeframe for operation in Pheonix through December, 2027 was designed based on the anticipated student need. However, if there is a demand for AIMC in Pheonix, AIMC can move forward with the next round of approvals for a permanent location.
Admissions Timeline
Students can move from application to enrollment quickly:
Submit transfer application
Receive advising + course crosswalk
Complete admissions interview
Accept offer and sign enrollment agreement
Register for classes and clinic
Key dates:
April 27: Enrollment agreements due
May 4: Summer term begins
Contact with Administration
AIMC has offered a handful of town halls for prospective students of PIHMA. However, we understand there are always more questions. Please don't hesitate to reach out to us! You can access our advisors directly and/or email our admissions office at start@aimc.edu
For those who may have missed the most recent town hall, you can access the slides!
Support Our Work
Do you value our work with alumni to provide ongoing record management and support? As a nonprofit, your support makes all the difference.
Visit AIMC.edu/GIVE
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