About Us

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Critics of private postsecondary career schools have achieved an unprecedented level of coordination with federal and state governments, with copy cat legislation and regulatory proposals sweeping across the country. Funded by ideologically driven foundations and big-money contributors, detractors of the proprietary sector of higher education have established strong relationships with partisan policymakers at all levels of government. In some cases, these longtime detractors of the sector have become government regulators themselves. The seemingly limitless funding supporting these initiatives drives biased media coverage, pays for misleading and partisan research, and supports efforts to discredit the sector in every conceivable way.

In this environment, it is essential that students who wish to pursue a higher education credential be able to choose the setting that is most appropriate for them, rather than have that decision made for them by politicians in Washington or their state capitals. Membership in ACES provides schools the ability to advocate for their students and to monitor the legislative and regulatory activities that impact them. The ACES network gives schools the information and support they need to match the coordination that is occurring among those adverse to the proprietary sector. This gives students a stronger voice in the decisions made by their elected officials and policymakers at all levels of government.

An association is only as strong as the collective voice of the members it represents. Through ACES, schools and students gain a more powerful voice in the political decisions of state leaders and regulators. Equally important, ACES members will have access to the real-time information they need to make informed decisions related to state oversight, school operations, and continued access for students. In addition, through in-person events and virtual webinars and information sessions, ACES can provide a forum for networking and relationship building among school leaders.  

The benefits of ACES membership are tailored to the unique needs of schools in each state. All ACES members will receive regular communications related to legislative, regulatory, and political activities important to the sector in the state capital, as well as a complimentary subscription to Career Education Review magazine. In addition, most of the ACES state associations will host an annual in-person annual meeting, as well as school member visits to legislative offices. Likewise, ACES state associations will work to keep government officials in each state abreast of the positive impact of sector schools in the state and will work with legislative leaders to facilitate in-person visits to their local schools. 

Membership dues will vary by state, based primarily upon the level of direct advocacy required on behalf of sector schools in the state. In states where the political climate is particularly threatening, ACES will facilitate sector-led advocacy campaigns to directly engage state legislators and regulators on key topics impacting schools and students. Dues will be based upon the gross tuition revenue of campuses located within the state. In all cases, ACES prioritizes equity in policy and continued access for every student to the choose high quality career education setting of their choice. 

ACES is a subsidiary of CECU, the national association representing private postsecondary career schools. There is no requirement that members of ACES also be members of CECU; however, CECU offers a membership discount to schools with campuses in multiple states within the ACES partnership. 

Schools with campuses in multiple ACES states will receive a scaled discount of 50% of their total ACES dues towards their CECU annual dues for the following year.