Feds propose shutting down big for-profit college accreditor

BOSTON — The U.S. Department of Education proposed Wednesday to shut down the nation’s largest accreditor of for-profit colleges, a rare move that could put dozens of schools at risk of losing federal funding.

This would sever ties with the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, a group that oversees 900 campuses and wields the approval seal needed to receive federal aid.

Leaders of the council did not immediately comment, but they have recently acknowledged that there are problems they need to fix.

A 27-page report slammed the council’s handling of institutions like the now-defunct Corinthian College.

It also blamed the council for failing to stop schools from falsifying data about the success of students, failing to stop misleading recruitment tactics and failing to punish schools that employed those practices.

Next, an advisory committee will issue its own proposal before education officials make the final decision.