FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 22, 2016

Contact: Sarah Schultz, Sarah.Schultz@YoungInvincibles.org, 202-734-6510

WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of Education took steps to protect students from predatory for-profit colleges and universities by revoking the accrediting power of Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS). Christopher Nellum, policy director of Young Invincibles released the following statement:

“In our current system, we place a lot of trust in accreditation agencies to review a college or university’s academic quality. Students rely on accreditors’ seal of approval when judging where to attend. Unfortunately, ACICS allowed many of the worst-acting for-profit colleges to operate, risking the dreams of tens of thousands of students in the process. The decision to revoke the accrediting power of ACICS comes as the culmination of several state and federal lawsuits against ACICS-approved schools, the shutdown of Corinthian Colleges, and the recent closure of ITT Technical Institute, one of ACICS’s largest institutions. This action is a major step toward protecting students from predatory for-profit schools that promise successful careers, but leave students under mountains of debt.”