Academic Affairs
Academic Affairs Committee
Contingency Plan for Continuing
Authorization of ACICS Institutions
Dr. Joseph G. DeFilippo
September 19, 2016
SCHEV Academic Affairs
• Players:
– National Advisory Committee on Institutional
Quality and Integrity (NACIQI)
– U.S. Department of Education (USED)
– Accrediting Council of Independent Colleges and
Schools (ACICS)
– State Council of Higher Education for Virginia
(SCHEV)
– 15 institutions (see addendum)
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SCHEV Academic Affairs
Recognition
“The Secretary of Education is required by law to publish a list
of nationally recognized accrediting agencies that the Secretary
determines to be reliable authorities as to the quality of
education or training provided by the institutions of higher
education and the higher education programs they accredit.”
(http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/)
Title IV
Title IV funds are federal student aid programs administered by
USED. They include Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loan,
Direct Graduate PLUS Loan, Direct PLUS Loan, Federal Pell
Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
(SEOG), and Federal Perkins Loan.
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SCHEV Academic Affairs
NACIQI, June 23, 2016
• Voted 10-3 to accept USED recommendation to
remove ACICS’ recognition.
• Also:
– Followed staff recommendation to renew the ABA’s
recognition, “but added two additional findings of
non-compliance [and] further added a limitation to the
agency’s scope of recognition to exclude the
accreditation of any new institutions and programs.”
– “NACIQI commissioners on Wednesday peppered
representatives from the American Psychological
Association, a programmatic accreditor, about
graduates' debt and repayment levels, which the
association does not require its members to submit”
(IHE, June 24, 2016)
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SCHEV Academic Affairs
Undersecretary of Education Ted Mitchell:
The unfortunate reality is that not all institutions have
students’ best interests at heart or are investing their resources
in ways that maximize student success. Accreditors should be the
failsafe in these instances. But too often they have been asleep at
the switch. To be clear: I’m not painting all accreditors with
same brush. The majority of agencies are working hard to evaluate
the quality of their institutions, to celebrate successful schools, to
help struggling institutions improve, and where necessary, remove
accreditation from institutions that systematically fail their
students. However, we know that some are not. The presence of
poor players taints the reputation of all accreditors and raises
questions about the value of accreditation as a whole – that
should be as troubling to the accreditation community as it is to
us. And it is why we have a responsibility to act.
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SCHEV Academic Affairs
• Practical Implications
– In Virginia, accreditation by a recognized accreditor is a
legal requirement for authorization.
– According to USED Title IV regulation, state authorization is
a requirement for Title IV eligibility.
– Therefore when ACICS’ recognition is withdrawn,
institutions will immediately be deemed unaccredited for
purposes of both Virginia law and federal regulation.
• If institutions have state authorization, USED will extend their Title
IV eligibility for 18 months.
• If institutions do not have state authorization, USED will pull
their Title IV eligibility immediately.
– Final administrative decision about recognition will lie with
the US Secretary of Education. This could be rendered
virtually any time after September 21 (most likely to occur
between November and January 20, 2017).
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SCHEV Academic Affairs
The example of ITT Tech
• Timeline:
– August 25: USED imposes stringent new conditions,
including posting a $250M letter of credit, and not enrolling
new students needing federal aid.
– September 6: ITT Tech announces it is shutting down.
– September 16: ITT Educational Services files for
bankruptcy.
• Governor and SCHEV responses
– Governor’s portal for ITT students:
http://governor.virginia.gov/ITT
– SCHEV portal: http://www.schev.edu/index/students-andparents/explore/virginia-institutions/current-advisories
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SCHEV Academic Affairs
SCHEV Contingency Plan
• Purpose: to provide institutions with continuing
authorization and avoid abrupt and simultaneous
loss of Title IV eligibility for multiple institutions.
• Approach:
– Out of State and In-state Certified Institutions: mirror USED
18 month grace period. SCHEV Director has some leeway
to extend period of authorization.
– Institutions not required to certify: six month initial period
during which the executive director will determine precise
requirements for getting through the entire 18 month period.
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SCHEV Academic Affairs
Questions/Feedback?
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