Dive Brief:

• More than 300 colleges and universities have formally inquired with the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC) about membership, following the federal government's decision to strip the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) of its institutional monitoring authority, Inside Higher Ed reports.
• The rush of schools has heightened review from the federal government about ACCSC's entry standards, and has prompted the organization to more stringently consider finances and metrics of postgraduate success. 
• The ACCSC was recently recommended for a 5-year extension of its approval as a federal monitoring organization. 

Dive Insight:

The federal government has decided that, one way or another, underperforming institutions are going to be cut off from receiving financial support through federal student loan disbursements. If it is not an outright denial to institutions themselves, or the stripping of accreditation power from umbrella organizations, it will be from public exposure of institutions with low metrics in finance, job placement or student loan default rates. 

For institutions on the verge of being placed on heightened cash monitoring lists, or which may have their accreditation voided, a possible solution may be to reorganize or to align with organizations offering professional credentials in specific industries. These partnerships may not restore access to billions in federal funds, but they may provide the opportunity to keep doors open until the government expands its view on funding certain solvent for-profit enterprises which prepare students for the workforce.