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On July 30, 2019, ACCET appeared before NACIQI – the National Advisory Council for Institutional Quality and Integrity – as part of the U.S. Department of Education’s (US ED) re-recognition process. The Department’s Accreditation Group presented NACIQI with a completely compliant report on our re-recognition petition. ACCET then had the opportunity to make a presentation regarding our agency’s operations and results since 2013. After a brief round of questions from NACIQI members, the advisory committee unanimously supported the recommendation that ACCET’s recognition by US ED be granted for the maximum five year period. Now, both the Accreditation Group’s recommendation and that of NACIQI will be forwarded to the Senior Department Official and the Secretary for final action.

As you know, this already difficult process was prolonged by an additional fourteen months due to events (including the latest government shutdown) that were beyond our control. We are so pleased with the result and are grateful for the outcome. Our Deputy Executive Director, Judy Hendrickson, led the petition process and is most deserving of our praise and appreciation. The entire ACCET team thanks you for your support!

Sincerely,

William V. Larkin, Ed.D.
Executive Director

ACCET has been blessed with no professional staff turnover for five years, so it’s not surprising that some career and personal developments would eventually catch up with us and disrupt this streak.  Here are some recent staff announcements: 

Assistant Executive Director Linsay Oakden will leave the staff after more than ten years of service in mid-May to relocate in Ravenna, Italy with her husband Kenan and baby son, Ozan.  Kenan has accepted a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Bologna and they expect to be overseas for at least two years. Linsay’s contributions to ACCET are legendary and she will be dearly missed both professionally and personally.  We wish the three of them well as they begin this new chapter in their lives.

Senior Accreditation Coordinator Megan Ackerman-Yost left the staff in late February to accept an academic planning position in the College of Agriculture at the University of Wisconsin. This move will provide Megan with the opportunity to pursue her first academic love – science – and complete her doctorate. Megan was with ACCET for eight years and was a major staff player in many different realms.  I know you join me in thanking her for her dedicated and talented service.

We have also been informed that Accreditation Coordinator Carol Crehan will leave the staff in late April to accept a language education related position with the United Nations.  Carol’s expertise in the Intensive English area as well as her superb training/teaching skills are but of few of the qualities that we will miss as she moves on after four years and we are grateful for having her with us during that time.

So, after recovering from this news, the senior executive staff worked together to re-organize professional staff portfolios and hire talented new staff.  Major events are as follows:

Dr. Mary Clare DiGiacomo has been promoted to Assistant Executive Director effective upon Linsay’s departure.  Mary Clare’s organizational and interpersonal skills will serve us well as we look towards the future.  Her responsibilities will not be the same as Linsay’s but will encompass several key areas.

Ms. Miia Rasinen has joined the professional staff as an Accreditation Coordinator. She holds a Master’s degree in Instructional Design and Technology from the University of West Virginia and an undergraduate degree in American Studies from the University of Notre Dame.  Her recent employment includes education/training related positions with the Electronic Transmission Association, the Truckload Carriers Association and Teach for America. 

We also will be hiring an additional Accreditation Coordinator in the coming weeks and will keep you posted once the appointment is made.

On the administrative side, Mr. Shubham Puri has joined the staff as Database Coordinator replacing Simin Xi who left the staff at the end of 2018 to accept a professional position with the United States Senate.  Shubham holds a Master’s degree in Applied Information Technology from Towson University (where he was employed part-time in the University’s Intensive English office) and an undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from Panjab University in India.

ACCET has always prided itself in serving its members and although we will surely miss Linsay, Megan and Carol, we are committed to continuing such service with our new team organization and players.  Thank you for supporting us in this new chapter.

In short, the annual ACCET conference in Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho was spectacular – beautiful setting, great keynotes, quality breakouts, an abundance of exhibitors, and social events galore.  Sandy Lockwood, Darlene Foret, and the ACCET staff program committee led this year by Cristina Rodarte all did an outstanding job.  FIRST Institute in Illinois is congratulated for winning this year’s Tom Tillia Community Service Award and thanks to Carol Crehan for coordinating the event.  Many memories were made and friendships renewed.  A highlight was the surprise awarding of the first ACCET Lifetime Achievement Award to Sandy Lockwood.  No one is more deserving!  So, now it is on to Phoenix in November 2019.  It promises to be awesome.

We have just completed a week of ACCET Commission meetings with a significant changing of the guard and an agenda of 87 items for consideration.  The Commission welcomed three new Institutional members – Haviva Parnes (EC Boston), Megan Kobzej (New American College, Denver) and Larry Lewis (San Diego Culinary Institute) – and a new public member, Terry O’Donnell (retired Executive Director of CEA – Council of English Language Accreditation).  They quickly adjusted, were oriented and played significant roles in the recent deliberations.  Also, a new Commission Executive Committee was installed – Paul Dunlop, Chair; Yadexy Sierra, Vice Chair; Derek Kindle, Treasurer, Rick Wood, Secretary, Peggy Tiderman, Past Chair (ex officio) and Dr. Bill Larkin, ACCET Executive Director (ex officio). Despite the changes and the short preparation time between the Conference and the Commission Meeting, all ran smoothly.  Special thanks to the ACCET staff for seeing that this occurred.

ACCET staff and Commission Executive Committee members are gearing up for consideration of ACCET’s re-recognition by NACIQI in early February.  The preliminary analysis of our petition by U.S. Department of Education staff was very encouraging and we are eager for the process to be completed. We will keep you posted as the process progresses.

Washington continues to be a hotbed of activity, speculation, and unpredictability with current attention on the ACICS re-instatement, the rapid demise of ECA – Education Corporation of America, and the impact that a Democratic Party led House of Representatives may have on higher education in general and the for-profit sector in particular.  Be assured that every day is an adventure here!

It has been a most challenging year for ACCET but in conclusion, I want to emphasize that ACCET is mired in a strong and durable foundation capable of weathering daunting times. We are moving ahead with a clear vision and determination to continue to serve our members and be a leader in the accreditation community.  Your unwavering support and enthusiasm for ACCET is noted and appreciated. I thank you for this partnership and extend my best wishes for your continued success while sending sincere best wishes from the Commission and staff for an enjoyable, relaxing and productive holiday season!