For-Profit Accreditor Scrapes by Advisory Committee
Alexis Gravely
July 28, 2021
Some members of the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity wanted to renew the accrediting agency for as little as one year, but a lack of accreditor criteria on student outcomes let ACCSC off the hook — for now.
The committee in charge of making recommendations to the Department of Education regarding accrediting agencies broke from department staff’s recommendation for the renewal of the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges, an agency that predominantly accredits for-profit career institutions and has come under fire for approving institutions with poor student outcomes.
Following hours of discussion and deliberation, the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity, or NACIQI, voted Tuesday to recommend that a senior department official renew ACCSC’s federal recognition for three years. Department staff had recommended a five-year renewal.
“I personally cannot vote to support the recommendation of the department,” said Katherine Alioto, a member of the committee. “I think the agency presents a good PR presentation, but in terms of what’s actually going on in schools … I cannot vote in favor.”
