Hundreds of colleges have begun seeking a new accreditor after the U.S. Department of Education last month backed a federal panel’s decision to terminate the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools.
The council is the largest national accrediting agency. Last year it was the gatekeeper for $4.76 billion in federal financial aid, most of it going to the for-profit institutions that make up the bulk of its members. ACICS oversees 245 institutions and 674 campus locations, which enroll roughly 600,000 students (361,054 degree-seeking undergraduates, according to federal data).
While ACICS has appealed the feds’ decision, the agency is on life support. As a result, up to 300 of the locations it oversees have inquired about being approved by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges, officials with ACCSC said last week.
Read more at Inside Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/10/06/hundreds-colleges-many-profits-seek-new-accreditor