Feds dump ITT Tech's accrediting agency
ATLANTA - The accrediting agency that approved ITT Tech College is no longer recognized by the federal government. And, that impacts many for-profit Georgia colleges.
The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools - or ACICS - is on its way out, pending an appeal. Here in Georgia as many as 5,000 students could be affected from 13 campuses statewide.
ACICS ACCREDITED COLLEGES
- Gwinnett College
- Lincoln College of Technology
- Miller-Motte Technical College
- SAE Institute of Atlanta
- Pacific Institute of Technology
- Virginia College.
Not on that list are three schools that had already planned to close and are unrelated to the accreditation issue. They are Sanford Brown, Brown Mackie College and Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts.
ACICS is the accrediting agency that gave the schools' curriculum their seal of approval. But after the ITT Tech Colleges shut down, the federal government started taking a closer look at the schools under the ACICS umbrella. They didn't like what they were seeing.
What happens when that accreditation is stripped is that students will no longer be eligible for federal aid, unless a new certification is sought by the school.
All of that said Corinna Robinson, the executive director of Georgia Nonsecondary Postsecondary Education Commission, who oversees these for-profit schools says she expects the transition to be smooth.
"One thing when you're dealing with an accrediting agency, they usually make site visits every five to 10 years. We, here at the commission, make visits annually. They're authorized annually. They have to go through our renewal process. They have to meet minimum standards."
The schools have 18 months to find another accrediting agency to give their curriculum the seal of approval. Ms. Robinson says she believes many of the local, for-profit schools have already got started on that process.