Accrediting Commission Of Career Schools and Colleges

What Accrediting Commission Of Career Schools and Colleges does

The Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC) is a private, nonprofit institutional accrediting body headquartered at 2101 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 302, Arlington, Virginia. Founded in 1967 and continuously recognized by the U.S. Department of Education for over 50 years, ACCSC serves as the designated accreditor for post-secondary career schools and colleges, currently overseeing more than 650 accredited institutions that educate approximately 150,000 students annually in vocational, trade, technical, and select degree programs. Its core offering is the Standards of Accreditation — a comprehensive framework covering management, programs, faculty, recruiting, admissions, student services, achievement outcomes, and distance education — applied through a voluntary, peer-reviewed lifecycle of initial accreditation, renewal, self-evaluation reports, on-site evaluations, and continuous improvement.

The organization is supported by a defined technology stack centered on the College 360 Database, a centralized platform for submission of accreditation reports, forms, and required documentation, and the Online Training Center, which hosts the Certified Accreditation Professional (CAP) Program, the Essential Workforce Skills (EWS) Programmatic Certification, webinars, and the Blueprints for Success and Monograph Series resources. These platforms operationalize the accreditation workflow and extend into professional development and programmatic credentialing. Distribution is event- and community-led, anchored by accreditation workshops, an annual Professional Development Conference, webinars, and a network of volunteer peer reviewers drawn from member institutions.

ACCSC generates revenue through subscription-style annual membership dues from accredited institutions, supplemented by accreditation application fees, renewal processing fees, workshop fees, and ancillary professional development income. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; schools engage ACCSC directly for fee schedules. The organization is governed by a Board of Commissioners (chaired by Michael Romano) under Executive Director Michale S. McComis, Ed.D., and operates with a small staff of approximately 20–25 employees. ACCSC's recognized counterparties include the U.S. Department of Education (regulatory recognition), CHEA (quality assurance recognition), the mikeroweWORKS Foundation (scholarship promotion), and Cyanna Education Services (faculty development content).

Name

Accrediting Commission Of Career Schools and Colleges

Legal name

Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges

Website

https://accsc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1967

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC) is a nonprofit institutional accreditor recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, serving over 650 post-secondary career schools and colleges educating approximately 150,000 students annually through voluntary, peer-reviewed accreditation and professional development programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Accreditation Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

National/Institutional Accreditors (Career, Faith-Based, Distance, etc.) (EDADACAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Online/Distance Education Quality & Accreditation Bodies (EDADACAK), Accreditation Coordination, Recognition & Meta-Accreditation Bodies (EDADACAH)

Keywords

• Institutional accreditation services
• Educational quality assurance
• Career school accreditation
• Post-secondary accreditation
• Professional certification programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Arlington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Accreditation Fees and Membership Dues: ACCSC generates revenue through accreditation application fees, annual membership dues from accredited institutions, and fees for workshops and renewal processes. Schools pay dues and fees at various stages of the accreditation lifecycle.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ACCSC is an institutional accrediting agency that evaluates and accredits post-secondary career schools and colleges against its Standards of Accreditation framework. Schools voluntarily apply through initial accreditation or renewal processes involving self-evaluation reports, on-site evaluations, and peer review, gaining recognition that enables federal student aid eligibility and quality assurance for students and employers.

Product overview

The Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC) operates as a recognized accrediting agency rather than a traditional technology product company. Its core offering is the Standards of Accreditation—a comprehensive framework for evaluating post-secondary career schools and colleges. Supporting this primary framework are the College 360 Database platform for document submission, the Online Training Center for professional development, the Certified Accreditation Professional (CAP) Program for certification, and the Essential Workforce Skills (EWS) Programmatic Certification. Additional resources include the Blueprints for Success guidance series, Monograph Series brochures, Accreditation Renewal and Initial Accreditation Workshops, and webinars for administrators and faculty development. These products and services collectively support the accreditation lifecycle from initial eligibility through renewal.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ACCSC Standards of Accreditation

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 150,000 students educated annually at ACCSC-accredited institutions
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• mikeroweworks FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the mikeroweworks Foundation Work Ethic Scholarship Program. ACCSC promotes the scholarship program to students at accredited institutions, supporting recognition of hardworking individuals who understand the importance of work ethic, personal responsibility, and positive attitude.
• Cyanna Education ServicesminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCyanna Education Services presents the Faculty Development Webinar Series for ACCSC, providing professional development content focused on people skills, power skills, communication techniques and educational theories for faculty at accredited institutions.
• U.S. Department of EducationcoreOthersACCSC is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as the designated institutional accrediting body for post-secondary career schools. This recognition enables accredited schools and their students to access federal student aid programs.
• CHEA (Council for Higher Education Accreditation)coreOthersCHEA Board of Directors awarded initial recognition to ACCSC, indicating quality assurance in higher education accreditation. CHEA also collaborated on joint statements regarding transfer of credit.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ACCET (Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training): ACCET is a national institutional accreditor of post-secondary, vocational, and continuing education institutions, directly competing with ACCSC for the same career and trade school member segment in the United States.
• ABHES (Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools): ABHES is a national institutional and programmatic accreditor focused on health education institutions, often overlapping with ACCSC in the proprietary school and vocational training market.
• Council on Occupational Education (COE): COE is a national accrediting agency for career, technical, and occupational education institutions, directly comparable to ACCSC in serving the same population of post-secondary career schools.

Broad incumbents

• Higher Learning Commission (HLC): HLC is one of the largest U.S. regional institutional accreditors serving colleges and universities; broader in scope than ACCSC but operates in the same accreditation ecosystem and occasionally competes for career-oriented institutions.
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC): SACSCOC is a major regional accreditor covering degree-granting institutions in the southern U.S., part of the same accreditation framework ACCSC operates in and a peer for institutional accreditation policy.
• Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE): MSCHE is a regional accreditor of colleges and universities in the mid-Atlantic region; comparable to ACCSC in operating institutional accreditation but at a broader, degree-granting institution level.
• Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU): NWCCU accredits colleges and universities in the northwestern U.S., another regional institutional accreditor operating in the same federal/CHEA-recognized accreditation framework as ACCSC.
• WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC): WSCUC is the WASC commission accrediting senior colleges and universities in California, Hawaii, and the Pacific, comparable in role to ACCSC as a federally recognized accreditor of post-secondary institutions.
• New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE): NECHE is the regional accreditor for institutions in the New England states, comparable to ACCSC as a peer institutional accreditor within the U.S. accreditation system recognized by the Department of Education and CHEA.

Others

• Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA): CHEA is a meta-recognizing body that coordinates and recognizes accrediting organizations, including ACCSC; not a direct competitor but a peer organization whose recognition is integral to ACCSC's standing in the accreditation ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/accscaccreditation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/accrediting-commission-of-career-schools-and-colleges-accsc-
• Xx.com/accscaccredits

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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