Steve Gunderson, President and CEO of Career Education Colleges & Universities, today applauded a judge’s ruling that President Obama's Department of Education failed "to consider various categories of relevant evidence” in reviewing ACICS.  “All we have ever asked for is due process and fairness,” he said. “This ruling makes clear the process used in revoking ACICS recognition was not complete and fair.  We now hope the current Secretary will recognize the need to work with ACICS, the schools impacted by this ruling to find a path that keeps students in school and on their way to achieving career skills.”

March 5, 2018 - Arlington, VA - The nation’s Post-secondary Career Colleges were again recognized for the quality of their graduates at this year’s Oscar Awards! The recognition follows similar achievement at the 2018 Grammy Awards.

This op-ed, written by Career Education Colleges and Universities President & CEO Steve Gunderson, was originally published on February 8,  2018 by The Chronicle of Higher Education.

When Mitchell E. Daniels Jr. was named president of Purdue University in 2013, I sent him an email saying, "Welcome to the revolution!" My email explained that higher education is changing in terms of whom we teach, what we teach, when we teach, and where we teach it. Last year, speaking on a panel at a higher-education symposium in my role as president of Career Education Colleges and Universities, I said that higher education had transformed itself, but I went on to suggest that the failure of the federal government to update its policies — especially the Higher Education Act — limited the ability of all educators to fully seize this moment.

The below story was shared with CECU by Nicole Hessabi who is a student at West Coast University. In March, Nicole will be attending CECU’s 2018 Hill Day in Washington, D.C. to share with lawmakers the positive impact that career education has had on her life.  

​​I was ten years old when I became a United States citizen. I stood there, fervently clutching onto my souvenir, a tiny American flag. I was overwhelmed with a sense of awe. I remember feeling both amazed and bewildered at the anticipation that was so palpable in the auditorium that day. Too young to understand the gravity of the moment and oblivious to the great difficulties millions have experienced in order to stand where I stood. I was instead consumed with
enormous excitement over the fact that on this day, my mother willfully allowed me to play hooky from my fifth-grade classroom. 

Shantrell Harris is a graduate of the Day Care Management Program at Unitech Training Academy – Baton Rouge. Shantrell was hired at her externship site, Little Dreamers Christian Academy, as a teacher’s assistant with the 1-2 year old class. The owner of the day care stated that Shantrell writes wonderful lesson plans, is patient with the children, and learns new things quickly. The parents are very fond of her and her children in the class love her. Shantrell is very happy to have found work in her career of choice so quickly. The entire team at Unitech Training Academy is very proud of her as well!

January 31, 2018 – Arlington, VA – CECU President and CEO Steve Gunderson sent an open letter to President Trump, his administration and Members of Congress today in response to last night’s State of the Union address where President Trump called on Congress to “invest in workforce development and job training.”

America has people without jobs, but it also has jobs without people – about 6 million of them. Why aren’t these jobs being filled? This jobs gap exists because employers demand “job ready” employees and prospective employees are simply not able to bridge the skills gap without appropriate education and training.