ACICS Regains Accreditation
Following a December of 2016 decision by the U.S. Secretary of Education, the Department derecognized the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, or ACICS, as an agency that can “provide schools with a seal of approval for educational quality.” However, on March 23rd, the U.S. District court for D.C. remanded the decision by Education Secretary following an appeal from ACICS. Therefore, as of April 3rd, 2018 ACICS is reinstated as an accrediting agency for colleges and universities.
Reason for Change
The decision to remove accreditation from ACICS resulted from a lack of effectiveness, on behalf of ACICS, to apply federal recognition criteria, and on its lack of effectiveness in applying those criteria. Therefore, colleges and universities that were solely accredited through ACICS were no longer recognized by the Department of Education. The decision resulted in degrees issued after December of 2016 at those ACICS recognized institutions invalid for the purposes qualifying for H-1B employment or the H-1B master’s cap. Additionally, the F-1 students, regardless of their graduation date, lost the eligibility for STEP OPT extension as the qualifying university is required to be accredited at the time of OPT application. Now, the April 3rdremanded decision repositions ACICS as an accrediting agency and all degrees issued during the period of invalidity will be recognized by the Department of Education.
Who Benefits?
International students who enrolled in an ACICS accredited university or college before December of 2016 and later graduated with a degree from that institution after ACICS lost accreditation, were ineligible for H-1B benefits. Therefore, students who expected that their degree from an ACICS educational institution would qualify them for H-1B benefits were then at a disadvantage. Now, the remanded decision essentially resets ACICS accreditation. Applicants may appeal denials of H-1B benefits if USCIS denied the petition due to the ACICS accreditation loss as this decision treats ACICS as if it never lost its recognition in 2016.