[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-582616-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-582616-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","how-a-college-accrediting-agency-failed-to-protect-students-from-a-decade-of-fraud","How a College Accrediting Agency Failed To Protect Students From a Decade of Fraud","","Examines how the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC) oversaw colleges operated by the Center for Excellence in Higher Education (CEHE) for more than a decade despite repeated concerns about quality and honesty. Details allegations by multiple agencies, a Colorado judge’s findings of deceptive practices, and ACCSC’s late withdrawal of accreditation. Highlights systemic “gatekeeping” limitations, regulatory loopholes, and the need for stronger oversight, enforcement, and student relief.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/how-a-college-accrediting-agency-failed-to-protect-students-from-a-decade-of-fraud/582616/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/how-a-college-accrediting-agency-failed-to-protect-students-from-a-decade-of-fraud/582616.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Mia  ","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-02","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",7,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What concerns did ACCSC raise about CEHE-affiliated colleges during the 2008–2021 period?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"ACCSC raised concerns more than 30 times that CEHE-linked colleges potentially failed standards for quality, honesty, and attributes important to students and taxpayers.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"What action did ACCSC take regarding CEHE’s accreditation in 2021?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"In April 2021, more than a dozen years after initial concerns, ACCSC withdrew CEHE’s accreditation, removing eligibility for federal student aid funds.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"Why does the report argue accrediting agencies and oversight rules failed students and taxpayers?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"It argues that gatekeeping rarely revokes accreditation after approval, loopholes let accreditors delay action, and later weakened regulations provided more time to fix problems without promptly stopping harm.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},582616,1792170979,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},687207024478,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_a8503ba1806abce46bf441b54a3ca4cd","How a College Accrediting Agency Failed To Protect Students From a Decade of Fraud  \nBy Marissa Alayna Navarro June 3, 2021  \nThe accreditor responsible for overseeing colleges operated by the Center for Excellence in Higher Education (CEHE) was not exactly asleep at the wheel. Yet it arrived at the only logical destination—yanking approval for colleges operated by the corporation—years later than it should have.  \nDuring a 13-year period starting in 2008, the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC) raised concerns more than 30 times that colleges affiliated with CEHE were potentially failing to meet standards for quality, honesty, and other attributes crucial to students and taxpayers alike. And yet, CEHE never fixed the vast majority of these problems. ACCSC was not the only one to find problems or take action. A state agency and several federal government agencies also alleged wrongdoing by the colleges—including an accusation from the U.S. Department of Justice about illegal recruiting practices. More months and years passed. Meanwhile, officials with one of the colleges blamed the problems on the “ethnic culture” of students.1  \nLast year, a Colorado judge ruled that colleges operated by CEHE had knowingly engaged in deceptive practices, misleading students about graduates’ earnings, job opportunities, and ability to repay loans provided by the colleges.2 Finally, in April 2021, more than a dozen years after concerns were first raised about campuses in the chain, ACCSC pulled the plug on CEHE by withdrawing accreditation—the seal of approval that makes the colleges it oversees eligible for federal student aid funds. Yet the colleges under the corporation already had received a collective $1.8 billion in federal grants and loans since 2008.3  \nThis is a story about how a system that is supposed to guard higher education against poor quality and fraudulent colleges can actually work as designed and yet utterly fail students and taxpayers alike. The Center for American Progress has documented, step by step, 13 years of actions and troubling findings from ACCSC that fell short of true accountability. As evidenced by the timeline in this issue brief, despite overwhelming evidence, it took far too long to pull the plug on CEHE, leaving tens of thousands of students in harm’s way.  \n1 Center for American Progress | How a College Accrediting Agency Failed To Protect Students From a Decade of Fraud  \nAcross the United States, accrediting agencies provide students and the colleges that enroll them with access to $120 billion each year in taxpayer dollars.4 These agencies are tasked with “gatekeeping,” a process to determine whether a college is deemed of sufficient quality; but they rarely revoke a college’s accreditation once approved.  \nThis issue brief looks at the rules guiding accrediting agencies and details the long list of actions to examine how an accreditor could ostensibly follow all its rules in overseeing an obviously troubled chain of schools without putting a stop to the company’s waste and abuse until far too late. While regulations require accreditors to take action and give colleges a defined amount of time to improve or risk losing accreditation, there are a variety of loopholes that allow accreditors to get around this requirement.  \nTo be fair, accrediting agencies are not the only ones responsible for quality oversight. The U.S. Department of Education and states also play a role in approving colleges; and in the case ofCEHE and others like it, neither has kept their end of the bargain. Clearly, there is ample room to improve oversight at all levels.  \nBut the example of ACCSC’s oversight ofCEHE also raises questions about whether accrediting agencies are up to the job. Given accreditors’ track record, the federal government should be drastically strengthening requirements for and expectations of them. Yet the laws have remained largely the same for decades. And last year, new regulations","cbCaifwIaFk7gIiZ","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaifwIaFk7gIiZ","pdf",173562,17,"English","# Introduction\n## ACCSC oversight timeline and failures\n## Systemic “gatekeeping” and regulatory loopholes\n# Background\n## About CEHE\n## CEHE operations and accredited campuses","[{\"question\":\"What concerns did ACCSC raise about CEHE-affiliated colleges during the 2008–2021 period?\",\"answer\":\"ACCSC raised concerns more than 30 times that CEHE-linked colleges potentially failed standards for quality, honesty, and attributes important to students and taxpayers.\"},{\"question\":\"What action did ACCSC take regarding CEHE’s accreditation in 2021?\",\"answer\":\"In April 2021, more than a dozen years after initial concerns, ACCSC withdrew CEHE’s accreditation, removing eligibility for federal student aid funds.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does the report argue accrediting agencies and oversight rules failed students and taxpayers?\",\"answer\":\"It argues that gatekeeping rarely revokes accreditation after approval, loopholes let accreditors delay action, and later weakened regulations provided more time to fix problems without promptly stopping harm.\"}]","How a College Accrediting Agency Failed To Protect Students From a Decade of Fraud | PDF",1792044057,43]