FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          AT
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1997                      (202) 616-2771
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888


JUSTICE DEPARTMENT URGES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO REMOVE SCHOOL
 CREDIT TRANSFER BARRIERS IMPOSED BY REGIONAL ACCREDITING AGENCY
                                 

    Justice says Southern Association of Colleges and Schools'
 Restrictions Stifle Students' Ability to Transfer School Credits


     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Justice is urging the
Department of Education to eliminate unreasonable restrictions on
the transfer of school credits imposed by the Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) because they make it
difficult for students to transfer credits from an institution
accredited by a non-SACS agency to a SACS-accredited institution.

     "SACS' restrictions hurt those who are least able to afford
them--students and workers who attend post-secondary technical,
vocational and career schools and now wish to continue their
education while getting some credit for their past coursework,"
said Joel I. Klein, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the
Justice Department's Antitrust Division.  "Other accrediting
agencies allow them to transfer credits, but in its region, SACS
makes it very difficult."

     In a letter filed yesterday with the Department of
Education, the Justice Department requested that Education
require SACS to adopt a more reasonable transfer of credit
policy.  SACS is one of the six Department of Education-
recognized regional accrediting agencies.

     The Department's Antitrust Division filed its letter after
receiving complaints from accrediting agencies, post-secondary
institutions, and students harmed by SACS' restrictive rules and
practices.

     SACS' unreasonable restrictions on transferring credits hurt
students who must take and pay for redundant coursework or who
are discouraged from pursuing their education, the Department
said.  They also hurt post-secondary institutions whose courses
may not transfer, competing accrediting agencies, and federal and
state governments that subsidize post-secondary education.

     SACS' Commission on Colleges accredits about 780 higher
education institutions in the South, ranging from two-year
technical and community colleges to comprehensive universities. 
SACS' recognition by the Department of Education permits students
enrolled at its member institutions to be eligible for Title IV
funding.

     Credit for coursework completed at another institution has
become an increasingly important issue as education has become a
life-long process for workers who return to school to add to
their skills and enhance their credentials.  SACS accredits all
or nearly all of the traditional colleges and universities in the
South that are the likely "receiving" institutions for the
transfer of credit.  

     SACS has adopted rules and practices that permit its member
institutions to grant credit only for coursework completed at
schools belonging to SACs or the other five regional accrediting
associations.  The only exceptions to this require SACS' members
to meet an extensive documentation requirement.  SACS' rules and
practices are more restrictive than those of other Department of
Education-recognized accrediting agencies, including the other
five regional accrediting agencies.

     Usually, the decision whether to grant credit for
transferred coursework is initially left to a post-secondary
institution's discretion.  Accrediting agencies may review these
decisions to determine if the receiving institution has 
exercised that discretion appropriately.

     SACS revised its transfer of credit criteria and practices
in 1994-95 while its Commission on Occupational Education
Institutions (COEI) was preparing to leave SACS.  This followed a
dispute with COEI over whether COEI could accredit technical
colleges.  COEI has since become the Council of Occupational
Education (COE) which accredits technical colleges.

     COE, the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and
Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT), and the Accrediting Council for
Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) are the three Department
of Education-recognized accrediting agencies that are
particularly harmed by SACS' restrictive transfer of credit
practices.  Their members currently enroll more than 100,000
students in the South. 
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