New Report Shows More than 235,000 Students at Risk Unless Congress Acts to Protect ACICS Schools

A report released in January by Career Education Colleges and Universities shows that over 235,000 students are at risk of losing their access to education and completion of their degrees unless Congress acts on legislation to give ACICS schools more time to find a new accreditor.  

​If Congress fails to act, these students will be left with debt and without degrees because their schools will lose accreditation. CECU president and CEO Steve Gunderson sent a letter to congressional leaders calling on Congress to pass legislation giving schools additional time to find a new accreditor. 

“Career Education Colleges and Universities, a trade group for the for-profit college sector, this week called on the U.S. Congress to give colleges that are accredited by an agency the Obama administration terminated more time to find a new accreditor,” Inside Higher Education reported. “Shortly before the Trump administration began, the U.S. Department of Education ended federal recognition of the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, a national accreditor for roughly 270 institutions, most of them for-profits.” 

The report looks at the status of ACICS schools seeking new accreditation.  Except for a small number of schools that have chosen to cease operations, most schools have submitted their applications with new accreditors. But the process has been slow because accreditors do not have the staff and resources to move quickly. Many schools have been forced to comply with the requirements of both their current accreditor and a new accreditor.