[4] ACICS was established upon the request of Benjamin Franklin Williams, president of Capital City Commercial College in Des Moines, Iowa.
[6] ACICS is incorporated in Virginia and operates from offices in Washington, D.C.[7] The scope of its recognition by the Department of Education and CHEA was defined as accreditation of private post-secondary educational institutions, both for-profit and non-profit, offering nondegree programs or Associate degrees, Bachelor's degrees and Master's degrees in programs "designed to train and educate persons for professional, technical, or occupational careers".
ACICS reported that the institutions it accredits are required to demonstrate a student retention rate of at least 75 percent.
[12] Five months later, twelve state attorneys general requested that the U.S. Department of Education withdraw recognition from ACICS as a federally-recognized accreditor.
[13][14] The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau petitioned a federal court to order ACICS to make available information about "its decision to approve several controversial for-profit college chains",[15] and the president of the organization, Al Gray, resigned.
[24] Although the Department of Education continued to recognize the accreditor, many institutions left the organization while its status was in question.