Washington, DC – A group of career colleges deemed to be among the best based on peer evaluation reviews during the last 12 months were recently honored by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools as 2009 Honor Roll Institutions.

Representatives from the 45 institutions received awards at the ACICS annual conference in Orlando. The recognition was based on several objective indicators of institutional quality, including few or no deficiencies identified by the site visit team, the speed with which short-comings were corrected, and the length of accreditation grant awarded by the Council.

"ACICS member institutions aspire to high levels of quality. One of the ways they know they are delivering strong, professional education is recognition as an honor roll school when they reapply for accreditation," said Eric Juhlin, Chair. "Administrators, faculty members and other staff take great pride in gaining status as an ACICS Honor Roll institution."

"Quality and excellence are integral to the brand of accreditation we burnish on member institutions. ACICS standards, criteria and accreditation practices produce better educational experiences for the students our institutions serve, and those professional standards produce powerful outcomes for the men and women who invest their time and resources in order to transform their lives."

ACICS 2009 Honor Roll Institutions are listed on the attached sheet.

ACICS, with offices in Washington, D.C., is the largest national accrediting organization of degree-granting institutions. ACICS reviews the institutional quality and integrity of more than 760 colleges and schools throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico and seven foreign countries, including Saudi Arabia. ACICS accredited institutions serve nearly 600,000 students enrolled in professional, technical and occupational programs through the doctoral degree level, including programs offered via distance education. ACICS is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) as a reliable authority on the quality of education provided by the colleges, universities and schools it accredits. ACICS will celebrate its Centennial anniversary in 2012.