As fall approaches and another traditional academic year begins (meaningful for some members and meaningless for others!), our attention also turns to the ACCET Annual Conference scheduled for the beautiful Coeur d’Alene, Idaho resort from November 7-9, 2018 with pre-conference workshops scheduled for the two days prior. In recent years, we have been able to identify unique settings for a group our size (e.g. Hershey, PA and Pueblo, NM) and Coeur d’Alene will add to that list. A short ride from the airport in Spokane, Washington, you will find a resort and town that should be perfect and I look forward to greeting you there. One civic note: most of you will be in Idaho or en route on November 6, the date of our national mid-term elections. So, in the spirit of our democracy, I urge you to make early voting or absentee ballot arrangements, as appropriate.

The Commission has just completed a most productive meeting here in Washington, D.C. and we welcomed a guest observer from US ED as part of our re-recognition process.  Approximately 80 agenda items were addressed with Commissioners working diligently to give each item due consideration.  I thank them for their dedication and expertise. I would also like to thank the ACCET staff for the enormous preparation and post-meeting follow-up that is performed each time we gather. A fruitful one-half day Strategic Priorities session was also held and we are further developing our list of initiatives that will shortly be shared with the membership.  Additionally, the Nominating Committee had a series of meetings and the slate for new Institutional Commissioners will be announced to primary contacts sixty days prior to the Idaho Conference.

We had hoped to have had a decision regarding the future of ACICS just prior to the last Commission meeting, but US ED postponed a decision until September 4, 2018.  The ACICS issue has significant impact on ACCET operations since several institutions are maintaining dual accreditation until the future of ACICS is more defined.  Like many individuals in the for-profit and accreditation communities, we are eager to know future directions for ACICS and its member schools.

Best wishes to all and I thank you for your continued support of ACCET. I look forward to seeing many of you in Coeur d’Alene!