Clarification Regarding Recent U.S. Department of Education Announcement [01 Nov 2021]

ACAHM has received a handful of inquiries regarding a 28 October 2021 announcement by the U.S. Department of Education (Department) on the recognition status of accrediting agencies. More information can be found below, but the community should be aware that ACAHM continues to serve as a Department of Education-recognized accreditation agency as it has continuously since 1988.

Background:

The Department requires that all accrediting agencies renew their recognition status every five years. ACAHM conducted a thorough review before applying for its scheduled 2021 recognition renewal.  A single non-compliance matter regarding who must be present on ACAHM appeals panels was identified in the Department’s Final Staff Report of 24 June 2021 and was subsequently resolved by ACAHM through a policy update on 28 June 2021. All ACAHM appeals panels must now be composed of an educator or administrator from a member institution accredited by ACAHM, an acupuncture or Chinese herbal medicine practitioner and a public representative.

On 28 July 2021, the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) was also made aware of this single issue as part of its established review process.  NACIQI recommended to the Department’s Senior Official that ACAHM achieve compliance, which it has done, and submit a compliance report, which it will do within the requested timeframe. We are confident that the Department will determine that the issue has been resolved once it has reviewed our forthcoming report, and that our renewal will be approved with no further non-compliance findings.