AFT’s Weingarten on the decision to terminate ACICS as an accreditor

WASHINGTON—AFT President Randi Weingarten on the Obama administration’s decision to terminate the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools as an accreditor: “ACICS was a corrupt sheriff in a nation of for-profit college cowboys. For an institution that was meant to hold others accountable, there was a shameful lack of accountability over its own actions.   “Students who enroll in for-profit institutions deserve to know that their student loans are helping them realize their dreams, not lining the pockets of those scrambling to exploit them for a quick buck.   “Today, the administration ended the ACICS charade. Time and again, ACICS rubber stamped failing colleges like ITT Tech as their executives lied about the quality of their education and the success of their graduates. The Department of Education, in its recommendation to eliminate ACICS in June, demonstrated unequivocally it had breached federal standards.   “As ACICS turned a blind eye and failed to enforce its own standards, billions of dollars of taxpayer money was funneled to operators who were breaking the law. Right up until Corinthian Colleges’ final collapse in 2015, ACICS was claiming nothing was amiss, even as state investigations and lawsuits piled up. The fox was in charge of the henhouse—many ACICS commissioners did double duty as industry executives at for-profit schools.   “The administration now needs to take action to stop other rogue accreditors, such as the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, which has repeatedly failed to fulfil its mission of ensuring quality higher education, while needlessly sullying the reputations of institutions like City College of San Francisco.   “ACICS violated regulations with impunity and showed an enormous reluctance to crack down on the lawless operators that give the for-profit sector a bad name. The Obama administration, by terminating its license, has sent a clear message that the jig is up.”