The Days May Be Numbered For Corinthian Colleges' Accreditor
RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
In order for a college or university to receive money from the federal government, it has to be accredited. The Department of Education is now recommending that one of the largest agencies that accredits colleges should lose the power to review schools and decide whether they're up to snuff. Kirk Carapezza of member station WGBH in Boston reports.
KIRK CARAPEZZA, BYLINE: That old and large college accreditor is the Accrediting Council for Independent Schools and Colleges. It accredits nearly 900 campuses, has been around since 1912 and now it's in trouble.
TED MITCHELL: This is the most forceful action that we could recommend.
CARAPEZZA: That's U.S. Education Undersecretary Ted Mitchell. He says the agency continued to accredit the for-profit giant Corinthian Colleges, even after federal officials found Corinthian was using aggressive sales tactics and lying about its graduation rates.
MITCHELL: Unfortunately, they maintained their accreditation status right up until the end.
CARAPEZZA: Corinthian's end came when education officials froze federal student aid, and the for-profit went bankrupt. But Mitchell says Corinthian's accreditor failed to hold the for-profit accountable.
MITCHELL: That has led us over the last year to really work with accreditors to make sure that the seal of approval that they're giving to institutions is meaningful to students and is protecting taxpayers' dollars.
CARAPEZZA: We're talking about billions of taxpayer dollars. College accreditation in this country turns on a spigot controlling the flow of financial student aid. In a recent interview, the accreditor's chief executive Tony Bieda told me his agency found no signs that Corinthian was misleading its students.
TONY BIEDA: We were comfortable - maybe mistakenly so - but we were comfortable that most of the time, most of the data they were providing was accurate. The department had a different perspective.
CARAPEZZA: Next week, a federal panel will hold hearings on the agency's fate, and Bieda is still confident they'll get a fair shake.
BIEDA: Because the politics will enter the room at some point. There will be activists. There will be picket signs. And then once the circus is done, then the adults in the room have to sit down and focus on the merits of the case.
CARAPEZZA: A final decision on the case is expected later this summer. If the agency loses its powers, its other campuses would have 18 months to find new accreditors or lose their federal funding. For NPR News, I'm Kirk Carapezza.
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