|
ACCSC Accreditation Alerts
The Commission has the authority and responsibility to establish and promulgate criteria for the evaluation and accreditation of private career schools and colleges. These criteria take the form of the Standards of Accreditation which are under continuing review. Revisions to the Standards of Accreditation are made by the Commission as appropriate and required.
The ACCSC Accreditation Alert provides guidance to accredited schools regarding the adoption of additions and revisions to the Standards of Accreditation and reflects the Commission’s final adoption of additions and revisions to the Standards of Accreditation.
When new standards are adopted, the Commission sets the date the standards will become effective, providing a reasonable time for school compliance, announces adopted standards and takes the action necessary for their implementation. The effective date and procedures for implementation, if required, are included in the announcement. Information on new standards is published and mailed to persons, institutions and organizations affected by or with an interest in the standards.
October 26, 2011
The Commission is dedicated to actively staying abreast with changes in federal policy and regulations as they occur and as such ACCSC developed a process to evaluate and recognize outside of class student work and preparation in a clock hour program (see the March 25, 2011 ACCSC Accreditation Alert). While ACCSC based its process and procedure for the evaluation and recognition of out-of-class work/preparation upon its understanding of the federal regulation and upon common academic practice for such evaluations, it has since come to the Commission’s attention from the U.S. Department of Education (“the Department”) that schools may be required to use a specific formula and calculation for federal student financial aid purposes. In order to help ensure that schools are following the Department’s interpretation, the Commission believes it is in the best interest of ACCSC-accredited schools to evaluate applications seeking recognition of outside work using the Department’s interpretation of §668.8(l).
Additionally, the Commission recently made revisions to Section IV & V, Rules of Process and Procedure, Standards of Accreditation pertaining to school notification requirements and promulgated those revisions in an April 22, 2011 Accreditation Alert. While the Commission has always had notification requirements for material events or circumstances that could affect the school’s operations, the purpose of the revisions was to make more clear the Commission’s expectations.
Click Here to download the October 25, 2011 Accreditation Alert.
Over the period of July 1, 2010 through July 1, 2011, the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (“ACCSC”) made several revisions to the Standards of Accreditation. In order to ensure that accredited institutions have complete and up-to-date knowledge of the Commission’s current requirements, a revised version of the ACCSC Standards of Accreditation dated July 1, 2011 is now available.
Click here to download the July 1, 2011 Accreditation Alert.
Click here to download the July 1, 2011 Standards of Accreditation.
The Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (“ACCSC” or “the Commission”) has made revisions and additions to the Standards of Accreditation in the following areas:
-
Section I (A), Rules of Process and Procedure, Standards of Accreditation – Definitions
-
Section IV, Rules of Process and Procedure, Standards of Accreditation – Substantive Changes
-
Section V (E&F), Rules of Process and Procedure, Standards of Accreditation – Notification Reports
-
Section IV, Substantive Standards, Standards of Accreditation – Student Recruitment
-
Section V, Substantive Standards, Standards of Accreditation – Admissions Policies and Practices
-
Appendix I – Accreditation Fees
-
Appendix V – Recruitment and Admissions Personnel Code of Conduct
-
Appendix VI – Admissions Documentation
ACCSC has clarified its policies in the following areas:
-
Section IV (D)(9), Rules of Process and Procedure, Standards of Accreditation – Effect of Substantive Changes
-
Section VII (M)(2), Rules of Process and Procedure, Standards of Accreditation – Maximum Timeframes to Remedy Noncompliance and Good Cause
-
Section X (E)(3), Rules of Process and Procedure, Standards of Accreditation – Information Sharing with Government Entities and Other Accrediting Agencies
-
Section VII (C)(3)(j) & (D)(3-4), Rules of Process and Procedure, Standards of Accreditation – Consideration of Third-Party Information
Please refer to this Accreditation Alert for the current revised policies, procedures, and substantive standards as set forth herein. The revisions to the Rules of Process and Procedure, Appendix I – Accreditation Fees, and the policy clarifications are effective as of April 22, 2011. The revisions to Section IV and Section V, Substantive Standards (including new Appendix V & VI) are effective July 1, 2011. The Commission will issue a fully revised Standards of Accreditation document available for download on July 1, 2011.
Click here to download a PDF version of the April 22, 2011 Accreditation Alert.
March 25, 2011
Clock-Hour-to-Credit Hour Conversion and Recognition of Work Outside of Class
During the Program Integrity Negotiated Rulemaking Session, the U.S. Department of Education (“the Department”) introduced new regulations pertaining to the conversion of clock hours to credit hours for the purposes of determining program eligibility for federal Title IV student financial aid.
In order to accommodate the new federal requirements, ACCSC has developed a process to evaluate and recognize academic work outside of class in a clock hour program.
Click here to download a PDF version of the March 25, 2011 Accreditation Alert
Please note that this Alert includes hyperlinks to the related applications/forms, including applications/forms for affiliated institutions.
Click here to access ACCSC's Forms portal.
Guidelines for Employment Classification
ACCSC has been in discussion for some time regarding the definition of “employment” as it relates to our accreditation standards and has conducted research into the practices of other accrediting agencies and convened focus groups to discuss this topic.
The reason for these efforts has been to ensure that the Commission clearly articulates and schools fully understand the expectation for what constitutes an employed graduate in a training related field and to set forth guidelines for issues such as verification, relatedness, self-employment, and career advancement.
Click here to download a PDF version of the January 5, Accreditation Alert.
The Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (“ACCSC”) has made revisions to the Standards of Accreditation in the following areas:
Rules of Process and Procedure:
Substantive Standards:
ACCSC has also established a new policy in the following area:
Click here to download a PDF version of the January 1, 2011 Accreditation Alert.
For additional information related to this Accreditation Alert, please contact Michale S. McComis, Ed.D., Executive Director, at (703) 247-4520 or via email at mccomis@accsc.org.
Click here to access the Accreditation Alert Archive.
|
