Comment
Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
The chain closed in 2016 and filed for bankruptcy. U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a prominent critic of ACICS, released a report critical of the accreditor in June. Several days later, the U.S. Department of Education formally recommended that the accreditor's recognition be withdrawn.[17][18]In September 2016, A U.S. education secretary wrote in a letter to ACICS: "I am terminating the department's recognition of ACICS as a nationally recognized accrediting agency. ACICS's track record does not inspire confidence that it can address all of the problems effectively."[19] The company immediately announced that it would appeal the decision within the 30 days allowed for appeal, to Education Secretary John King Jr.[19] ACICS unsuccessfully appealed the decision[20][21] and subsequently sued the Department of Education.[22] Although the Secretary of Education finalized the process of revoking the U.S. Department of Education's recognition of ACICS as an accreditor in December 2016,[21] ACICS's lawsuit resulted in a judge ordering Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to review the decision in March 2018 as King did not take into account all of the evidence;[23] DeVos subsequently restored the accreditor's recognition by the Department of Education.[24]Although the Department of Education continued to recognize the accreditor, many institutions left the organization while its status was in question. At the same time, many institutions formerly accredited by ACICS closed. This loss in membership, combined with the legal costs associated with the lawsuits and legal proceedings, placed the organization into financial difficulties including a $2.1 million deficit in 2019.[24] Although the Department of Education restored its recognition of ACICS following its lawsuit, CHEA did not and ACICS withdrew its application to CHEA in early 2020.[25] The scandals surrounding ACICS peaked in Spring of 2020 when USA Today revealed ACICS accredited the "Reagan National University" despite evidence of the "institution" having no students and no faculty. [26]Following the inauguration of Joe Biden in 2021, the Department of Education again moved to withdraw recognition of ACICS with department staff recommending withdrawal in January and the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity recommending withdrawal in March.On August 19, 2022, the Department of Education terminated the
Add Comment