Secretary DeVos Issues Final Decision Granting ACICS Continued Recognition with Compliance Warning
On November 21, 2018 Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos issued a final decision to reinstate the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) as a recognized accreditor.
Today’s decision follows the September 28 action of the Senior Department Official (SDO), who determined that ACICS was in compliance with 19 of the 21 federal recognition criteria currently applicable to accrediting agencies (34 CFR Part 602). Regarding the two areas where the SDO stated that ACICS had not demonstrated full compliance – “competency of the representatives” and “conflict of interest” – the Secretary has granted ACICS 12 months to demonstrate compliance. ACICS has been working to achieve full compliance with the remaining two criteria and is confidident that it will be fully compliant by the deadline.