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Press Room
January 17, 2012
Pursuant to Section 2.07 of the ACCSC Bylaws, in February 2012, ACCSC will conduct an election to fill two (2) vacant School Commissioner seats, each with a four year term beginning on July 1, 2012 and ending June 30, 2016. Upon the recommendation of the ACCSC Nominating Committee, the following individuals are slated as candidates for election or appointment as a School Commissioner.
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Julie Basler, Ph.D. – Platt College - Aurora, Colorado
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James A. Bologa, CPA – Porter and Chester Institute, Inc. – Rocky Hill, Connecticut
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Sherry Bomberger – YTI Career Institute – Corporate Office – York, Pennsylvania
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William Buchanan – Corinthian Colleges, Inc. – Santa Ana, California
The Commission encourages all of its accredited member institutions to take the time to review each candidate for School Commissioner prior to the election, which is scheduled to commence the week of February 6, 2012. Upon conclusion of the voting period, the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes will be considered elected as an ACCSC School Commissioner.
Additionally, pursuant to Section 1.04 of the ACCSC Bylaws, the Commission will appoint one individual to a School Commissioner position with a four year term beginning on July 1, 2012 and ending on June 30, 2016. Following the School Commission Election process, the Commission will consider the two candidates not elected by the membership during the School Commissioner Election for appointment. Therefore, in addition to casting votes during the election, member institutions are encouraged to submit any comments relevant to the candidates’ potential to be appointed to a School Commission position. Comments should be sent directly to Michale S. McComis, Ed.D., ACCSC Executive Director at mccomis@accsc.org.
Click here to download the ACCSC School Commissioner Election Announcement
On November 25, 2011, ACCSC issued comments to the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) about what is working and what can be improved in the current system of accreditation and its role as a gatekeeper to federal student financial aid programs under Title IV of the Higher Education Act. Namely, in this memorandum ACCSC stated its support of the retention of accreditation as the best course of action to follow and its belief that the “triad” of regulatory actors (state regulators, accreditors, and the federal government) is the best framework to ensure educational quality and the integrity of the federal student aid program.
Click here to download a PDF version of ACCSC’s November 25, 2011 Memorandum to NACIQI.
September 9, 2011
In August of 2011, the Commission announced the launch of the 2011 Nominating Committee Election in order to facilitate the appointment of a representative from the ACCSC membership to fill one (1) vacant seat on the Nominating Committee for a two-year term ending June 30, 2013. The Commission is pleased to announce that Tim McMahon of Triangle Tech in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has been elected by the ACCSC membership to serve as a member of the Nominating Committee.
Click here to download the Press Release.
June 10, 2011
At its June 2011 meeting, the National Advisory Committee for Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI), which is charged with advising the United States Secretary of Education on accreditation matters, voted to recommend that ACCSC’s recognition as a reliable authority on quality education be continued for five years, the maximum timeframe allowed under the federal guidelines. ACCSC was one of only two accrediting agencies on NACIQI’s June 2011 agenda to earn the committee’s recommendation for a full five-year term with no additional reporting required
Click here to download the Press Release.
April 28, 2011
ACCSC, along with representative agencies of the national accreditation community, including ABHES, ACCET, ACICS, COE, and DETC issued a response to the Call for Comment issued by Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE).
Specifically, this response expressed, on behalf of over 2,000 post-secondary institutions accredited by our respective agencies, our uniform opposition to ACOTE’s proposed accreditation requirement which strikes national accrediting agencies from the existing eligibility criteria and requires sponsoring institution(s) and affiliates to be accredited by a “recognized regional accrediting authority” in order to be eligible to offer a Master’s Degree, or Doctoral Degree program in occupational therapy.
Click here to download the April 28, 2011 letter to ACOTE.
ACCSC, along with 70 other higher education associations and organizations, wrote to Rep. John Kline, Chairman, and Rep. George Miller, Ranking Member, of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and to Sen. Tom Harkin, Chairman, and Sen. Mike Enzi, Ranking Member, of U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee asking for assistance in blocking two regulations issued as part of the U.S. Department of Education’s Oct. 29, 2010 final program integrity rules.
Specifically, these letters asked Congress to block the regulations creating a federal definition of a credit hour as captured under Section 600.2 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), as well as the state authorization and related distance education requirements as stated under Section 600.9 of the CFR.
Click here to download a PDF version of the letter to Rep. Kline and Rep. Miller.
Click here to download a PDF version of the letter to Sen. Harkin and Sen. Enzi.
March 4, 2011
ACCSC is pleased to announce that Mr. John Carreon of Kaplan Higher Education and Dr. Joel English of Centura College have been elected by the ACCSC membership to serve as School Commissioners. Additionally, the Commission is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. James Heideman as a Public Commissioner. The new Commissioners’ four-year terms will commence on July 1, 2011 and will end on June 30, 2015.
Click here to download a PDF version of the Press Release.
National Accreditation Community Expresses Uniform Opposition to Proposed Rule in Kentucky
On March 2, 2011, the national accreditation community, including ACCSC, issued a series of letters to the President and Minority Floor Leader of the Kentucky State Senate, as well as to representatives of the state’s Senate Committee on Education and the Secretary of Education and Workforce Development Cabinet, expressing uniform opposition to a proposed rule which would require all proprietary, degree-granting colleges to be accredited by a “regional” accrediting body.
On March 2, 2011, ACCSC, along with 60 other higher education associations and accrediting organizations, wrote to the United States Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, to express our serious concerns regarding the state authorization regulations which significantly expand and complicate the existing federal requirements for institutions to be “legally authorized” in a state.
Click here for a copy of the March 2, 2011 letter.
On February 25, 2011, ACCSC wrote to the California Board of Registered Nursing to express our opposition to a proposed accreditation requirement which restricts the eligibility of institutions seeking to offer a nursing program to those institutions of higher education that are regionally accredited.
Click here to download a PDF version of the ACCSC’s letter to the California Board of Registered Nursing
On February 16, 2011, ACCSC, along with 70 higher education associations and accrediting organizations issued a letter to the United States Secretary of Education expressing grave concern regarding the creation of a federal definition of a credit hour. This letter also requested that the Secretary immediately rescind this definition from the final regulations.
Click here to download a PDF version of the February 16, 2011 Letter
August 20, 2010
On August 6, 2010, the Commission sent a memorandum to all ACCSC-accredited institutions which discussed the important role that accreditors play in establishing and enforcing rigorous standards in the areas of recruitment, advertising, and admissions practices.
To that end and in light of the recent report of by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), ACCSC has established a special Task Force to evaluate the recruiting, advertising, and admissions practices at its accredited institutions.
Click Here to download a PDF version of the August 20, 2010 Memo to the ACCSC Membership from the Executive Director
August 6, 2010
On Wednesday, August 4, 2010, Dr. Michale McComis, ACCSC Executive Director had the opportunity to provide testimony before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee at a hearing entitled For Profit Schools: The Student Recruitment Experience. This hearing focused on the findings of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report that highlighted significant student recruiting issues and potential violations of law, regulation, and accreditation standards at 15 for-profit institutions, including institutions accredited by ACCSC.
Click Here to download a PDF version of a Memo to the ACCSC Membership from the Executive Director.
May 21, 2010
Outcomes assessment through the analysis of graduation and employment data has been a cornerstone of the Commission’s process of evaluating institutional effectiveness for over a decade. Although increased focus on outcomes assessment represents a major shift within other sectors of the higher education community, the Commission has always relied upon verifiable outcomes data as a means of assessing educational programs and institutional effectiveness.
Pursuant to the Standards of Accreditation, the Commission establishes and publishes the benchmark graduation and employment rates gleaned from data submitted in the Annual Reports of its accredited schools.
Click Here to download the Dear Colleague letter which includes the Commission’s newly established Student Achievement benchmarks, based on Annual Report data from 2006-2008, that will go into effect July 1, 2010.
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ACCSC Systematic Program of Review of the Standards of Accreditation –
April 7, 2010
As a recognized accrediting commission whose mission is to serve as a reliable authority on educational quality, ACCSC is committed to the on-going review of its standards. One method used to fulfill this goal, among several others, is ACCSC’s Systematic Program of Review which includes a comprehensive Validity and Reliability Study every five years. The Commission has recently completed its most recent Validity and Reliability Study and is proud and excited to share the results.
Click here to download a PDF version of the Press Release
Click here to download a PDF version of the Validity and Reliability Study Summary
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October 1, 2009
Effective October 1, 2009 the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT) is pleased to announce the full transition to its new name, the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC).
As part of the name change initiative, ACCSC has updated its electronic resources and contact information as follows:
Web-site: www.accsc.org
E-mail Extension: @accsc.org
Logo: ACCSC's new logo is available for download at www.accsc.org
Please update your records to reflect the Commission's new name, website address, and e-mail extension for all ACCSC staff in accordance with this change. In order to ensure a smooth transition, e-mail messages sent to the @accsct.org extension will automatically forward to the recipient at the @accsc.org extension for the foreseeable future.
Please note that ACCSC's mailing address and telecommunication numbers remain the same:
Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC)
2101 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 302
Arlington, Virginia 22201
703.247.4212 (phone)
703.247.4533 (fax)
www.accsc.org (web)
Click here to download the complete Name Change notice.
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