may 2006 Call For Comment

Adopted Wording:

D 4. The school offers job placement services to help graduates' efforts to secure employment in the field represented by the program the graduate completed, or in a related field, that include, but are not limited to
i. Professional appearance guidelines
ii. Job referral
iii. Follow-up

[The other criteria under this Standard remain unchanged.]

Adopted Wording:

D 2. The financial statements of the school demonstrate that it has the financial resources to ensure continuity of operation, educational programs and services, and to fulfill its obligations to students and employees, by meeting the following requirements:

a. Has met the requirements as set forth by the US Department of Education in accordance with section 34 C.F.R. 668.171, or the successor regulation, or

b. An acid-test ratio of current assets to current liabilities of one to one or greater; a positive tangible net worth; and a profit in the most recent accounting year or in two of the most recent three accounting years.

An accredited institution that fails to meet the requirements listed in a or b above, may be granted limited time to bring themselves into compliance, in accordance with section 8.18 of the Rules of Practice and Procedure, if it can show it meets c or d below

c. A copy of a letter or credit which has been accepted by the U.S. Department of Education; or

d. Evidence that the U.S. Department of Education has granted the school a waiver under 34 C.F.R. 668.171 or subsequent regulation.

In Accordance with Section 8.18 of the NACCAS Rules of Practice and Procedure, a school is required to bring itself into compliance with accreditation requirements within the time frames established in the Rules.

In addition, the school's financial statements are:

e. Prepared by an independent Certified Public Accountant;

f. Prepared on an accrual basis, and in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP); and

g. Either compiled or audited. If an institution participates in Title IV funding programs, audited financial statements meeting a higher standard my be submitted in lieu of compiled statements.

1 Institutions participating in HEA IV programs are required by the U.S. Department of Education to submit audited financial statements rather than compiled statements. Those statements must be audited according to both Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS) and also by Generally Accepted Governmental Auditing Standards (GAGAS). Further disclosure of related party transactions as required under Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) 57 must be made, as well as disclosure of and attestation to the percentage of revenues derived from Title IV funds, calculated in accordance with 34 CFR VI, Sec. 600.5(d).

[The other criteria of this Standard remain unchanged.]

Adopted Wording:

Section 8.18 Time Lines to Remedy Non-Compliance

(a) Where the Commission has found an area in which the institution is out of compliance with accreditation standards and requirements, the period allotted to an institution to remedy the non-compliance or cure the deficiency, together with the time for the Commissioner's final decision, in no case shall exceed the following time limits:

(1) Twelve months, if the institution's longest program is less than one year in length;

(2) Eighteen months, if the institution's longest program is at least one year, but less than two years in length; or

(3) Two years, if the institution's longest program is at least two years in length.

These time frames shall begin to toll on the date of the first Commission decision letter on a process deferring action on an institution, granting accreditation with stipulations, or withdrawing accreditation.

(b) If the institution does not bring itself into compliance or cure the deficiency within the specified period, the Commission must take adverse action unless there is good cause to extend the period for achieving compliance.

(c) Good cause shall exist, for example, when, at its discretion, the Commission determines that, throughout the period allowed under subsection "a" above, the institution has been making a good faith effort to remedy existing deficiencies and a reasonable expectation exists that such deficiencies will be remedied within the period of the extension if adverse action is postponed.

[The other sections of Part 8 remain unchanged.]

Adopted Wording:

Section 9.6 Appeal Review Panel List

(a) NACCAS shall maintain a list of at least fifteen former Commissioners and experienced evaluators to be appeal review Panelists. They shall be selected based on their expertise in education and their familiarity with the Commission's Standards, conditions, policies, and Rules of Practice and Procedure. In order to be included on the list of Panelists, a person must

(1) Have attended a NACCAS accreditation workshop within the past three (3) years; and

(2) Have signed an agreement to abide by the NACCAS Code of Ethics.

(b) Panelists shall be appointed for two years, and may be re-appointed.

[The other sections of Part 9 remain unchanged.]

Proposed Wording:

E. No person may serve simultaneously as a member of the Commission and as an Officer or member of the Board of Directors of an national organization dedicated to the interests of any field within NACCAS' scope. A person holding such other office may be nominated as a Commissioner but, if elected, must immediately tender a resignation from such office to the other organization , such resignation to be effective no later than the commencement of his or her term as Commissioner. A Commissioner-elect my not be seated until such resignation has been tendered.

The sole exception to the forgoing is that the duly elected chair of the Commission during his or her tenure as chair of the Commission or the chair's designee, may be a member of the board represent NACCAS at meeting of a single legally constituted national federation of four or more national organizations dedicated to the interests of any field within NACCAS' scope. However, he or she may not be an officer in the federation.

Proposed Wording:

SECTION I

Amendments, alterations, or repeal of these By-Laws, either in whole or in part will be effective only by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Commissioners present and voting at any duly organized meeting of the Commission, regular or special, provided the proposed changes have been published for comment to all accredited schools and filed with the Secretary at least thirty (30) days in advance of the meeting date and a notice of such amendments with a copy thereof, shall have been mailed to the Commissioners not less than thirty (30) days in advance of such meeting at which it is considering the change.
Once a vote has been taken on a proposed amendment and has been defeated, it shall not be re-considered at a future meeting without the required comment period and notice.

[The other sections of this Article remain unchanged.]