Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct information regarding the Louisiana Culinary Institute’s accreditation status.
Seven Louisiana technical colleges including the Virginia and Camelot College campuses in Baton Rouge could be without federal aid if their accrediting agency is no longer recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, The Shreveport Times reports.
The U.S. DOE informed the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools Thursday that its renewal of recognition is denied. The accrediting body has approximately 245 colleges nationwide, including seven in Louisiana.College accreditation gives students the opportunity to access federal aid in the form of student loans and Pell grants.
The Louisiana Culinary Institute, which also is accredited by the Council on Occupational Education, sought ACICS Â accreditation for its bachelor’s program which began enrollment in May, but is seeking additional accreditation options for that program.
LCI’s Associate of Occupational Studies Programs have been accredited for 10 years through the Council on Occupational Education. Qualifying students enrolled in those programs can still receive federal aid and are not impacted by ACICS’s accreditation issues.Â
ACICS has 30 days to appeal the U.S. DOE’s decision. If the accrediting agency’s appeal is denied, then all ACICS campuses would have up to 18 months to find a new accrediting agency or lose federal student aid.
“While we are disappointed in this decision, ACICS plans to continue diligent efforts to renew and strengthen its policies and practices necessary to demonstrate this agency’s determination to come into full compliance with the Department of Education’s recognition criteria and, most importantly, to improve outcomes for the estimated 600,000 students currently attending ACICS-accredited institutions,” says ACICS Interim President Roger Williams.
According to the Center of American Progress, ACICS has 17 institutions, campuses or corporate entities under investigation that have accepted more than $5.7 billion in federal funds over the past three years.
“That represents 52 percent of all federal aid dollars received by ACICS-approved colleges during that time period,” the center says.
Dianne Worthington, Education Corporation of America’s vice president of marketing and communications, says Virginia College is already looking into other accrediting agencies as a precaution. The college’s Louisiana campuses have a total of 910 students.
“During the appeal process, we remain accredited,” she says. “We are in the process of getting communication out to students and they will be informed today. If we lost accreditation, students will still have eligibility for their federal financial aid for 18 more months. So for Virginia College, most of our programs can be completed within that time period, so there’s really no reason to leave and go somewhere else.”
Other Louisiana schools that could potentially be affected by the final decision include Virginia College’s campus in Bossier City, McCann School of Business and Technology in Shreveport and Monroe, Delta School of Business and Technology in Lake Charles.
