BOSTON (Legal Newsline) - Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, joined by 12 other state attorneys general, is seeking deaccreditation of the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) by the U.S. Department of Education.
The attorneys general called out the ACICS for allegedly systematically failing to ensure program quality at certain for-profit institutions. The for-profit institutions mentioned by the attorneys general include ITT Tech, Lincoln Technical Institute in Massachusetts, and several schools across the United States run by Corinthian Colleges.
“This accreditor enabled the for-profit school industry to defraud students and taxpayers, repeatedly putting its stamp of approval on predatory schools that lured students into low-quality courses and left them overwhelmed with debt,” Healey said. “Now more than ever, as default rates continue to climb, we need stronger oversight by these accreditors to protect students from these profit-seeking institutions. I urge the department to immediately revoke ACICS’s status and refuse its renewal in order to ensure quality, affordable education for students and provide accountability to taxpayers.”
Joining with Massachusetts were attorneys general from Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Washington and the District of Columbia.