June 22, 2017
The Honorable Betsy DeVos
Secretary, U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202
Dear Madame Secretary,
On behalf of the undersigned state associations and the institutions within each of our associations’ membership that are accredited through the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) and are currently provisionally-certified while seeking accreditation from another recognized accrediting agency, we would like to begin by commending you and the Department on its recent May 18, 2017 revision to Condition #20 of their Program Participation Agreement (PPA) Addendum. Thank you for this decision that is in the best interest of both the students and the institutions going through this unprecedented process that was no fault of their own.
Providing accrediting agencies with additional time and flexibility in the completion of their initial review of institutions who have filed In Process Applications is an important first step in making revisions to the previous Administration’s guidance on this issue. Unfortunately, we believe more needs to be done to help make this complex and burdensome transitional process more equitable and beneficial for the institutions and students they serve. Thus, we write you to request your review and Department action to address four additional concerns related to the transition of ACICS-accredited institutions to an alternative accrediting agency.
Provisional Program Participation Limitation
While the statute under Section 498(h)(2) – Provisional Certification of Institutional Eligibility authorizes “…a period not to exceed 18 months from the date of withdrawal of recognition,” the Provisional Program Participation Agreement (PPPA) and the PPA Addendum institutions were required to sign within ten days of the December 12, 2016 decision expires at the end of 2017.
Acknowledging the Department is likely limiting the PPPA in order to provide time to review the progress of the institution before granting an extension of an institution’s eligibility into 2018, institutions are still frustrated and concerned that there is not language contained in the PPPA or PPA Addendum noting a review and extension for a period beyond December 31, 2017.
To address this ambiguity, we request the Department provides some form of formal assurance that institutions who are in the process of transitioning to an alternate accrediting agency are provided with written assurance that, barring any issues of non-compliance with the PPPA and PPA Addendum, their provisional eligibility will be extended the full 18 months.
Lack of Support/Recognition for Schools with Proven Track Records
When the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) considered ACICS’ recognition last year and made the recommendation to derecognize them, they indicated ACICS had very high standards and student outcome requirements, but ACICS had become deficient in enforcing some of these standards over the last few years, especially in a small number of high profile cases of schools that are no longer open. However, for the hundreds of other schools accredited by ACICS that are still open and in good standing, this situation was not their fault. Thus, every effort should be made to make sure these schools are able to successfully complete this transition to new accreditation.
In interpreting the statute and the December 12, 2016 guidance and supplementary information, the previous Administration provided a detailed list of the requirements and limitations that ACICS-accredited institutions must follow. This list includes a requirement that institutions had to submit a report regarding lawsuits, arbitrations, and investigations to the Department within the first 30 calendar days and update those reports every 90 calendar days thereafter. What was not provided in the previous Administration’s guidance was any recognition of, or support for, the evaluation and lifting of these requirements for institutions with no outstanding issues – other than being accredited by ACICS.
On behalf of those institutions with no outstanding issues, we respectfully request the Department considers the development and implementation of an application or appeals process which would enable an institution with no outstanding accrediting agency findings, state or federal issue or complaints, to seek relief from at least some of the restrictive requirements included in the Provisional Program Participation Agreement and PPA Addendum (e.g. “major changes” which place unjust limitations on institutions growth).
Elimination of Auditors Review Requirement
As part of the December 12th supplementary guidance and requirements, institutions agreed to have their third-party auditor “… evaluate certain key data and compliance indicators that would typically have been monitored by the accrediting agency, including fiscal information and measures of student achievement…” as part of their Provisional Program Participation Agreement (PPPA) and PPA Addendum.
This requirement is unnecessarily duplicative and therefore we respectfully request this requirement be rescinded. Institutions subject to the PPPA and PPA Addendum are not without quality assessment as the regulatory requirement asserts. In fact, the institutions going through this process are effectively being overly assessed, as they are still under ACICS review, while at the same time developing, submitting, and being reviewed and assessed by a second, new accrediting agency. Thus, it seems illogical, redundant, and unnecessary to have this requirement.
Moreover, some of the auditors who were arbitrarily tasked with this new responsibility have indicated they are uncomfortable with being asked to, essentially, take on the role of an accrediting agency and the assessment of institutions based upon standards and metrics not part of their regular role and responsibilities.
Consistency in Agency Interpretation and Student Access
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has taken recent action denying any further certification of ACICS-accredited institutions, and more importantly their students’ access to Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) support.
This interpretation is wholly inconsistent with the statutory authority established under the Higher Education Act of 1965, the U.S. Department of Education’s regulatory interpretation of the statute, as well as more recent statutory revisions Congress enacted in order to provide the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs with the authority to publish similar interpretations in support of service members and veterans continued access and eligibility.
In support of the continuation of students’ sustained access to these important postsecondary education funds, we respectfully request the Trump Administration and the Department support calling upon ICE to reconsider their position. They should rescind their prior actions removing institutions’ certification and restore access to students through the development of new guidance consistent with the interpretation and actions of other Cabinet-level agencies.
To achieve this goal, we respectfully request the Department would either formally or informally reach out to the appropriate leaders within DHS/ICE, share with them the Department’s interpretation of the statute and it’s intended effect to “…allow institutions to avoid consequences…” related to the state and federal policies triggered when an institution is no longer accredited by a federally recognized accrediting agency.
Under your leadership the Department has already taken a very positive step to help these schools and their students with this unprecedented situation, and we would like to work with you and your staff in taking just a few additional steps that would mean so much to our collective members struggling to comply with this process and its requirements.
Please help these schools who are dealing with this situation at no fault of their own by taking the actions we have requested. Please know that we would welcome the opportunity to meet with you in person or via conference call to discuss these and other issues of importance to our collective communities whenever necessary.
Thank you for your service, your recent actions, and those we hope will follow as a result of this letter.
Sincerely,
Arizona Private School Association
Central States Private Education Network
Northwest Career Colleges Federation
Pennsylvania Association of Private School Administrators
CC:
Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander
House Education and the Workforce Committee Chair Virginia Foxx
James Manning, Acting Under Secretary of Education
Kathleen Smith, Senior Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education