If you mean Accrediting Commission of Career Scools and Colleges of Technology, then the answer is yes. Accredits institutions that offer vocational training (auto repair, floral design, cooking, etc).
KidDL asks, So why would a school be accredited through this group rather then an RA? Same reason many people choose said schools. Faster, cheaper, easier. Not "fast, cheap, easy," but er, er, er.
What does this mean, confused by your response. Schools accredited by the group are faster, cheaper and easier? No offense, just confused.
My guess would be that they probably take less time to complete, cost less money, and are easier in terms of academics. And, more importantly, most likely stand no chance of qualifying for regional accreditation. Tom Nixon
KidDL asks "What does this mean, confused by your response. Schools accredited by the group are faster, cheaper and easier? No offense, just confused." I meant that the accreditation process is faster, cheaper, and easier, and tried to make it clear that this does not mean fast, cheap, and easy; only comparatively. DETC accreditation, for instance, involves (among other things) a one day visit by a team. The entire process can take less than one year. Regional accreditation typically involves (among other things) multiple-day visits by a variety of teams. The entire process can take anywhere from three to ten or more years.
Hi John: Just one point of clarification on your posting. DETC site visits are often only one day, but that is because many of the schools are small. However, I have participated in several visits that were two or three days long. Still short compared to some typical RA visits, which I have also participated in, but again, more a result of the size of the school than of the process. Mary
I have little knowledge of ACCSCT apart from looking at some of the schools it accredits, but might there be more to this than "easier, faster, cheaper"? Most of the schools that ACCSCT accredits are sub-university-level trades and vocational programs. If you run a school of automobile mechanics, ACCSCT is an accreditor you might contact. Do the regional accreditors even bother themselves with these kinds of schools? I believe that ACCSCT does sometimes accredit up through the associates and bachelors level. But even in these cases the programs are vocational rather than academic in nature. ACCSCT accredits the California Culinary Academy for example, a highly respected school for commercial chefs that offers associate degrees. Does ACCSCT insist upon the same kind of general education courses that the regional accreditors require? Is it as concerned with library resources? Is it as worried about percentage of faculty with Ph.D.s, or the use of part timers? Might ACCSCT accreditation allow the California Culinary Academy to focus a little more precisely on its mission of actually teaching students to cook? What I am suggesting is that the regional accreditors' academic orientation might not be totally appropriate when applied to trade and vocational education.