The college accreditor responsible for providing accreditation to Corinthian Colleges, the now defunct for-profit college chain that students say robbed them of a career in their chosen field and saddled them with student debt, may lose its ability to provide accreditation to colleges.
A staff group at the U.S. Department of Education released a report recommending that recognition for the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) be terminated.
There are more steps required in the process of actually terminating the accreditor’s recognition. The National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity, or NACIQI — an advisory body appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Education and Congress — will make its own independent recommendation on the issue. If the committee agrees the accreditor should lose its recognition, that decision would then need approval from a senior department official. And the accreditor could appeal, in which case the education secretary would make the ultimate decision.
Still, this is a big step forward for advocates who have long hoped the department would hold ACICS accountable for its role in legitimizing for-profit colleges that have been accused of scamming students.
ACICS has accredited 243 for-profit colleges primarily or exclusively. In addition to Corinthian, ACICS also accredits the for-profit chain ITT, which is still being investigated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for its questionable private loan practices.
Feds Finally Go Big On Debt Relief For Corinthian College Victims, With A Big AsteriskEducation by CREDIT: AP Photo/Christine Armario The government is reaching out to more than 250,000 of Corinthian…thinkprogress.orgOnly 35 percent of students at a typical ACICS college completed their degrees, a ProPublica investigation found. Students at the schools ACICS accredited also struggled more to make student loan payments. Reports have also shown that executives from for-profit colleges sit on the accreditor’s council, bringing doubt into how effective of a watchdog it can be.
This decision comes after a dozen state attorneys general, veterans groups, policy experts on higher education, and students called on the U.S. Department of Education to revoke the accreditor’s recognition through a spate of letters released in April. ACICS has been investigated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and has been criticized by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D) for its “appalling record of failure.”
Warren released a report last week citing its “lax” oversight and the fact that schools accredited by ACICS have “consistently produced terrible outcomes for students.” But the report didn’t let NACIQI off the hook either. It called the advisory body’s lack of proper oversight of ACICS “egregious.” The senator has long been focused on holding accreditors accountable. She grilled the then-president of ACICS, Albert Gray, on the accreditor’s oversight practices last year.
The Center for American Progress also released a report last week showing ACICS’ track record of accrediting schools under investigation. According to that report, over the last three years, 52 percent of the federal aid given to ACICS-accredited colleges flowed to institutions that have been under state or federal investigations. The report also found that the colleges accredited by ACICS provided the worst student outcomes compared to any other accreditor.
Once a final decision is made, the colleges accredited by ACICS would have 18 months to get accreditation elsewhere and keep receiving federal student aid. But if one of those institutions can’t find an accreditor, students would lose that financial aid and have to transfer to another institution. If a student already graduated with their degree from an ACICS-accredited school, their degree will not be compromised in any way. If you’re not sure whether your college has been accredited by ACICS, check out this link.