DETC Accrediting Commission:
Final Action to Deny Initial Accreditation Effective January 20, 2012

In accordance with Federal Regulations, the DETC Accrediting Commission provides written notice of its accrediting decisions to appropriate accrediting organizations and state agencies, the public, and the U.S. Department of Education.

The following applicant institutions elected not to appeal the Commission’s final decision to deny accreditation:

California Institute of Arts and Technology

The California Institute of Arts and Technology, San Diego, CA was denied initial accreditation effective January 20, 2012 for the following reason:

The DETC Accrediting Commission concluded that California Institute of Arts and Technologies did not meet DETC Eligibility Criteria that requires an institution to demonstrate two years of continuous years of operations as a distance education institution.

On February 22, 2012, the California Institute of Arts and Technology submitted the following comments regarding the Commission’s decision:

California Institute of Arts & Technology is honored to been reviewed for accreditation by DETC and thank the Commission for challenging us to improve. We are especially pleased that CIAT’s programs, faculty and overall procedures met DETC's challenging academic standards. It is disappointing that the Commissioners decided that CIAT did not convincingly demonstrate meeting DETC’s Eligibility Criteria and IX.E. Demonstrated Operations, however, we understand that in today’s regulatory environment, the burden of proof that lies upon the institution is greater than ever.

We sincerely thank the Commission, DETC, the evaluators and visiting team for their efforts and will continue to strive toward becoming an accredited member of the Accrediting Commission of the distance Education and Training Council (DETC).

 

Hawthorn University

Hawthorn University, Whitethorn, CA was denied initial accreditation effective January 20, 2012 for the following reasons:

The DETC Accrediting Commission concluded that Hawthorn University did not demonstrate that it met accrediting standards concerning Comprehensive Curriculum, Satisfactory graduation rates, and appropriately qualified faculty. The institution did not demonstrate that it was in compliance with DETC’s minimum tuition refund policy.

On February 27, 2012, Hawthorn University submitted the following comments regarding the Commission’s decision:

Since its inception in 2002, Hawthorn University has provided innovative online education resulting in over 100 graduates presently working in the field of holistic nutrition. We are extremely grateful that the DETC has recognized our many strengths and for offering recommendations in areas that they deemed needed some improvement. Hawthorn graciously accepted and implemented all of the proposed suggestions and required actions recommended by the Examining Committee which was substantiated in our response to the Chair’s Report dated September 1, 2011. Also, additional evidence of our compliance was provided in our Follow-Up Report dated November 1, 2011. With all due deference to the Commission, our documents provide verification of compliance with all of the DETC standards. As such, we are petitioning for a waiver of the twelve month waiting period to reapply and respectfully request that the Commission review and accept our petition and give further consideration to the evidence presented in our previous reports. We are confident that the Commission will find us worthy of recognition as we continue to meet all standards.

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