Feds strip authority of college accreditor behind ITT Tech, apparently fake university

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Tireman 44444, Aug 19, 2022.

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  1. Tireman 44444

    Tireman 44444 Well-Known Member

    An embattled college accreditor that survived several rounds of federal scrutiny over the course of three presidential administrations may have finally run out of time.
    The U.S. Department of Education on Friday said it had denied the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and School's appeal to hold on to its federal status as a college accreditor.

    The decision could mean an end to ACICS’ long-running encounters with the federal government, which stretch back to 2016. That's when the Obama-era department originally tried to strip the agency of its recognition following the closures of two massive for-profit colleges.



    Trouble continued to find ACICS. A USA TODAY network investigation in 2020 revealed the accreditor had approved Reagan National University, a college in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, that had no students or faculty. Cindy Marten, the department's deputy secretary, made the final decision on ACICS' appeal and said it was out of compliance with the government's standards.

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    Feds strip authority of college accreditor behind ITT Tech, apparently fake university (msn.com)
     
    Dustin likes this.
  2. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I read that despite this decision, ACICS could continue as an unrecognized accreditor. We have MORE than enough of those already. I hope it doesn't.

    Nobody to blame bur ACICS itself. It had five years - it could have turned things around but chose not to. It gets what it gets. When the last ACICS employee turns out the lights and leaves, please make sure the Accreditation Stamp(s) is / are securely stored. We don't want them used - ever again.
     
    Dustin likes this.
  3. AsianStew

    AsianStew Moderator Staff Member

    That's just one of a few NA's that I want the feds to investigate further, another is ACCSC as some of these Career schools/colleges offer expensive online degrees and seem to be charging a hefty price compared to RA counterparts. Technically these institutions shouldn't be offering Bachelors or higher, but I see a few have Bachelors or higher as offerings. Most if not all their programs should be non-degree training with a trade or vocational emphasis or focus...
     
  4. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Don't worry, Bryan - people have been looking at ACCSC for a while, now. See section 4 of this article. https://www.republicreport.org/2021/education-department-hearing-exposes-divisions-on-higher-ed-abuses/

    ACCSC can accredit schools to offer up to Master's degrees. Whether or not they should be doing that, in SOME of these schools - well, maybe that should be looked at while the authorities are at it. They likely are looking already. I don't get a good vibe out of this whole thing - at least not for ACCSC.
     
  5. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    I have first-hand dealings with ACICS. It was for many years run as a little fiefdom by a Dr Gurubatham. Right after their scandals went public, Gurubatham died. No one saw it coming, and I’m convinced it left a leadership void reflected in their inability to get their act together—for several years—after the DoE came after them.

    Their staff was quite small, as were their offices (although tastefully set, they were modest…for DC). Everything seemed to go through and involve Gurubatham. I know I dealt with no one else, other than an administrative assistant, and I was just a consultant representing a school considering ACICS accreditation.

    He seemed like a nice and earnest guy. Then he was gone. And now so is ACICS, it would seem.
     
    Johann likes this.
  6. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Thanks for the first-hand info, Rich. Small operation, big money, it would seem. At its peak, ACICS had, I believe, around 900 schools (including all branch campuses etc.) under accreditation. I think that was down to around 260 when the DoE order finally came down.

    With the negative attention at least one other National Accreditor in somewhat the same league is beginning to receive - I don't know where all the remaining schools will head for accreditation. I'd figure by and large, they're not DEAC material. I think some would not meet standards - plus, most aren't even distance schools. Some of them probably need to close / be closed anyway. It's been a blighted and overpopulated sector.
     
    Last edited: Aug 20, 2022
  7. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Yes. There is NO way they could keep up with that crowd. And a lot of those schools were doing BIG business, plus all the federal financial aid flowing through them.

    DEAC accreditation isn't all that hard to get. They're a shoestring operation. (Again, first-hand.) As such, they rely heavily on the individual (yes, individual) assessor. These assessors can vary widely in terms of their judgments on each accreditation standard. And if you get a switch in assessors--it happens a lot--it's like starting over. Things that were fine are now wrong, and other things that needed fixing suddenly don't.

    The thing that held up a lot of California-approved schools from going with DEAC is that agency's mentality. They approach higher education as if it is a correspondence school--course materials mailed to you in a box. The schools that fit them best have standardized curricula and very few faculty--test and assignment graders, mostly. If your approach doesn't fit that paradigm--and most RA schools would NOT, for example--then you struggle with them.

    Some very good, very "accreditable" schools have been burned in California, and some more are heading that way. Again, first-hand observation.
     
    Johann likes this.
  8. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    ACCET and COE. If they're willing to pretend to be Christian, TRACS appears to have very low standards.
     
    Johann likes this.
  9. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Indeed they do. But I'll give TRACS credit for one thing. They stepped up to the plate for Morris Brown College - beleaguered and unaccredited for almost a generation (2002 - 2021.) But yeah - I think some of their potential applicants are pretending to be schools - so it shouldn't be much of a stretch for them, to pretend they're Christian.

    Thanks for reminding me about ACCET and COE.
     
  10. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Yes - ACCET and COE. Schools accredited by either are limited to Associate degrees - applied / occupational ones in both cases, I believe. I guess schools wanting to offer higher degrees would have to head for TRACS - and start praying... :rolleyes:
     
  11. AsianStew

    AsianStew Moderator Staff Member

    And that's basically the reason you want to stick with the RA options unless there is a specific degree program that can't be had at the RA level or something that's obscure, like Surgical Technology, Veterinary Science or whatever it may be. Nationally Accredited programs are great for those professional, vocational studies or trades that really doesn't require a degree higher than a Bachelors.
     
  12. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    For some reason, COE appears to be the accreditor of choice for the federal government's career and technical institutions.
     
  13. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Seems they do a satisfactory job of what they're authorized to do. Vocational certs and non-degree programs. And the occasional Applied Associates - but that's it. Looks like there's at least one accreditor that knows how to stay out of trouble. They keep their heads down and do their work. So they're the preferred one for that job. Makes good sense. Get a niche and keep it.
     
  14. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Those and also ACCSC.
     
  15. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Done and dusted, Steve. How long can they tread water? See Post 4. As I said then:
    "I don't get a good vibe out of this whole thing - at least not for ACCSC."
     
    Last edited: Aug 22, 2022
  16. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    COE is an offshoot of SACSOC and accredits a lot of public schools, so they probably have a different approach than ACICS and ACCSC.
     
    Johann likes this.
  17. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    And recent events would indicate that different approach works better than some others.
     
  18. Jonathan Whatley

    Jonathan Whatley Well-Known Member

    ABHES is an institutional accreditation option for a school "if either (a) 70 percent or greater of its students are enrolled in active programs in the health field or (b) 70 percent or greater of its active programs are in the health education field and at least 50 percent of its students are enrolled in those programs."
     
  19. AsianStew

    AsianStew Moderator Staff Member

  20. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    They can file in federal district court. But with just 27 schools left that are accredited by them, one wonders how many resources they have to continue to resist delisting.

    As an aside, while the author of the article seems rather keen to use this to bash for-profit schools, one of the few ACICS accredited schools it actually mentions, Fairfax University of America, is non-profit.
     
    Johann likes this.

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