Skip to content
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign In
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Virtual Events
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
  • More
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Virtual Events
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
    Upcoming Events:
    Hands-On Career Preparation
    An AI-Driven Work Force
    Alternative Pathways
Sign In
News

DeVos’s Education Dept. Relaxed Rules for For-Profits Under Accreditor That Closed

By Adam Harris February 7, 2018

The U.S. Education Department has relaxed requirements for for-profit colleges that obtained accreditation through an agency that lost its federal recognition under the Obama administration.
The U.S. Education Department has relaxed requirements for for-profit colleges that obtained accreditation through an agency that lost its federal recognition under the Obama administration.Saul Loeb, AFP, Getty Images

As a controversial accreditor of for-profit colleges sought new federal recognition, the Department of Education relaxed requirements for institutions affected by its loss of that recognition.

The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, or Acics, was stripped of its federal recognition in late 2016, after reports of shoddy oversight and a department analysis that found the accrediting council had failed to comply with more than 20 areas of federal regulation.

To continue reading for FREE, please sign in.

Sign In

Or subscribe now to read with unlimited access for as low as $10/month.

Don’t have an account? Sign up now.

A free account provides you access to a limited number of free articles each month, plus newsletters, job postings, salary data, and exclusive store discounts.

Sign Up

The U.S. Education Department has relaxed requirements for for-profit colleges that obtained accreditation through an agency that lost its federal recognition under the Obama administration.
The U.S. Education Department has relaxed requirements for for-profit colleges that obtained accreditation through an agency that lost its federal recognition under the Obama administration.Saul Loeb, AFP, Getty Images

As a controversial accreditor of for-profit colleges sought new federal recognition, the Department of Education relaxed requirements for institutions affected by its loss of that recognition.

The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, or Acics, was stripped of its federal recognition in late 2016, after reports of shoddy oversight and a department analysis that found the accrediting council had failed to comply with more than 20 areas of federal regulation.

Without federal recognition, the council could no longer serve as a gatekeeper for federal student aid. And the colleges that it accredited had just 18 months to find a new accreditor or they would also be unable to accept federal Title IV money from their students.

To receive federal money during that 18-month period, the colleges that lost accreditation when Acics was stripped of its recognition signed an agreement that called for compliance with a handful of requirements, including an on-campus visit with their new accrediting agency to assess compliance, regular notification of lawsuits or settlements, and reporting of outcome data, among other stipulations.

In a letter dated last August that was obtained by The Chronicle, the department outlined for Northwest Suburban College, in Illinois, how it would provide “further flexibility” for institutions, and in some cases “fully or partially relieve institutions from having to comply with certain conditions.”

The department extended a December 31 deadline for a site visit to February 28. “As noted in the department’s prior communication, the 18-month deadline for obtaining new federally recognized accreditation is statutory and the department has no authority to extend it,” the letter read. “The department has nevertheless determined it would be appropriate to further relax the site-visit deadline.”

Institutions that cannot meet the February 28 deadline can notify the department within 10 days and may be eligible for a further extension of the deadline. Decisions must be made by June 12 on institutions’ applications for new accreditation.

The letter also relieves institutions of having to regularly report lawsuits or arbitration agreements against them, and removes a requirement to report all known investigations, as had previously been the case. Last week one such college chain, Florida Technical College, reached a $600,000 settlement following allegations that employees had submitted false federal financial-aid claims.

Further, the institutions are no longer required to submit information to a third-party auditor regarding outcomes such as cohort-default rates and loan-repayment statistics, or financial-responsibility metrics and retention rates. They are still required, however, to post a notice on their websites about the loss of accreditation.

ADVERTISEMENT

Elizabeth Hill, an Education Department spokeswoman, responded to an inquiry from The Chronicle about the letter. “All Acics member institutions know about the June 2018 deadline for finding a new accreditor. Their provisional PPAs with the department require all Acics institutions to post a notice to its public-facing website about its loss of recognized accreditation,” she said in an email message. “Moreover, institutions that failed to submit an application with a new accreditor by June 12, 2017, are not eligible to receive or disburse any Title IV funds for students who enroll after that date. So there was and continues to be a clear incentive for schools to find a new accreditor.”

Still, critics worry that by relaxing the requirements, the department is putting institutions’ interests ahead of students’.

“The whole point of ED’s original conditions was to make sure a school could not continue receiving federal aid for months without any serious effort to find accreditation elsewhere,” said Ben Miller, a senior director for postsecondary education at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank. “It’s especially fitting that the department felt like it wasn’t important to know about complaints or investigations months before yet another Acics school settled a lawsuit around allegations of wrongdoing.”

The department’s actions have raised the prospect that it may decide to restore the embattled accreditor’s eligibility. The council is currently applying to have its recognition restored, and is slated to go before the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity, which will make a nonbinding recommendation to the department.

Read the full letter here:

Eric Kelderman contributed to this article.

Adam Harris is a breaking-news reporter. Follow him on Twitter @AdamHSays or email him at adam.harris@chronicle.com. Eric Kelderman writes about money and accountability in higher education, including such areas as state policy, accreditation, and legal affairs. You can find him on Twitter @etkeld, or email him at eric.kelderman@chronicle.com.

A version of this article appeared in the October 12, 2018, issue.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Tags
Law & Policy Political Influence & Activism
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
Adam Harris - Profile Pic
About the Author
Adam Harris
Adam Harris, a staff writer at The Atlantic, was previously a reporter at The Chronicle of Higher Education and covered federal education policy and historically Black colleges and universities. He also worked at ProPublica.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Related Content

To Lighten the Regulatory Load, Focus on For-Profits
Federal Panel Votes to Shut Down an Accreditor Blamed for Failures of For-Profit Higher Ed
Call to Shut Down a Controversial Accreditor Could Shake For-Profit Higher Ed

More News

Marva Johnson is set to take the helm of Florida A&M University this summer.
Leadership & governance
‘Surprising': A DeSantis-Backed Lobbyist Is Tapped to Lead Florida A&M
Students and community members protest outside of Coffman Memorial Union at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, on Tuesday, April 23, 2024.
Campus Activism
One Year After the Encampments, Campuses Are Quieter and Quicker to Stop Protests
Hoover-NBERValue-0516 002 B
Diminishing Returns
Why the College Premium Is Shrinking for Low-Income Students
Harvard University
'Deeply Unsettling'
Harvard’s Battle With Trump Escalates as Research Money Is Suddenly Canceled

From The Review

Glenn Loury in Providence, R.I. on May 7, 2024.
The Review | Conversation
Glenn Loury on the ‘Barbarians at the Gates’
By Evan Goldstein, Len Gutkin
Illustration showing a valedictorian speaker who's tassel is a vintage microphone
The Review | Opinion
A Graduation Speaker Gets Canceled
By Corey Robin
Illustration showing a stack of coins and a university building falling over
The Review | Opinion
Here’s What Congress’s Endowment-Tax Plan Might Cost Your College
By Phillip Levine

Upcoming Events

Ascendium_06-10-25_Plain.png
Views on College and Alternative Pathways
Coursera_06-17-25_Plain.png
AI and Microcredentials
  • Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Jobs in Higher Education
    • Post a Job
  • Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Vision, Mission, Values
    • DEI at The Chronicle
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Group and Institutional Access
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
  • Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2025 The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is academe’s most trusted resource for independent journalism, career development, and forward-looking intelligence. Our readers lead, teach, learn, and innovate with insights from The Chronicle.
Follow Us
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin