Each ACCSC-accredited school files an Annual Report, and the Graduation and Employment Chart inside it is how the Commission judges whether each program is working. The 2026 report was due on or before October 9, 2026. If yours is in, the useful work now is getting the 2027 file ready while this year's graduates are still easy to reach. This guide covers what the report contains, how the two rates are calculated, the benchmarks, and the timeline.
What is the ACCSC Annual Report? It is the yearly online filing required of each school and branch campus accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC). It covers July 1 through June 30 and reports, for each program, a Graduation and Employment Chart built from student cohorts grouped by start date, with each graduate classified as employed in the field, employed elsewhere, continuing education, unemployed or unknown. The employment rate is graduates employed in the field divided by graduates available for employment, and the Commission's established benchmark is 70% for all programs, one standard deviation below the 78% average. Programs that report below benchmark may be required to submit a plan for improvement and progress reports. Backup documentation stays on file at the school and is not sent with the report. Prentus helps career schools find and document the employment evidence behind those rates, so staff confirm outcomes instead of starting each file from scratch.
This post summarizes ACCSC's published materials as of October 2026. For how the Commission checks the evidence behind each employed graduate, read our companion guide to ACCSC employment verification requirements. This post covers the report itself.
What to report in the ACCSC Annual Report
The 2026 Annual Report instructions and the Standards of Accreditation (Section V) define the filing.
| Item | What ACCSC asks for | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Program Enrollment Summary (PES) | One for each active program. Enrollment at the start of the period, students added, graduates by status after graduation, and withdrawn or terminated students by reason. | 2026 Annual Report instructions |
| Graduation and Employment (G&E) Chart | One for each program with reportable data, built by class start date. Separate charts for each program length, for 100% distance programs, and for programs with more than 50% offered at a satellite. | G&E Chart guide; 2024 FAQs |
| Retention Chart | For programs that have students on the PES but no reportable data for the G&E Chart. | 2024 Annual Report FAQs |
| Licensure or certification exam pass rate | For programs where a government entity requires passing an exam to work in the field. The benchmark is a 70% pass rate among students who take the exam. | Standards, Appendix VI |
| Tuition, fees and length | Provided annually for each recognized program. | Standards, Section V(B)(9) |
| Certification | The highest-ranking official at the school certifies the report as true and correct. | Standards, Section V(A)(3) |
| Backup documentation | Not submitted with the report. Kept on file with the school copy of the report. | 2026 Annual Report instructions |
Financial statements follow a separate schedule under Section V(C) of the Standards and are not part of this filing.
How the graduation and employment rates work
ACCSC tracks students by cohort start date, not by graduation date. The Graduation and Employment Chart guide describes a reporting window built to collect one year of starts, let each student finish in up to 1.5 times the program length, and give graduates at least three months to find work.
Reporting window
ACCSC's own example is a 12-month program with a July 2016 report date. Twelve times 1.5 plus 3 is 21 months, which puts the window at October 2013 through September 2014. Convert weeks to months by dividing by 4.34 and rounding up.
| Rate | Formula | What is removed first |
|---|---|---|
| Graduation rate | Graduates within 150% of program length, divided by students available for graduation. | Only four reasons remove a student from the starts. Death, incarceration, active military deployment, or onset of a medical condition that prevents continued enrollment. |
| Employment rate | Graduates employed in the field, divided by graduates available for employment. | Graduates continuing at an accredited institution on at least a half-time basis, plus graduates unavailable for employment. That covers death, incarceration, active military deployment, a medical condition that prevents employment, and international students who are ineligible for sustainable employment in the United States. |
ACCSC's guide walks through one cohort. Seven students graduate. One continues their education and one becomes unavailable for employment because of a medical condition, which leaves 5 available for employment. Four are employed in the field, so the cohort employment rate is 4 divided by 5, or 80%. A graduate who finished after 150% of the program length counts as a withdrawal, and a graduate whose status is unknown stays in the calculation. That last point is why finding every graduate matters as much as verifying the ones you find.
Benchmarks the Commission uses
Appendix VI of the Standards publishes the established benchmarks. They apply to Graduation and Employment Charts with a report date of July 1, 2016 or later and remain in effect until further notice. The Commission sets each benchmark from Annual Report data, generally one standard deviation below the average.
| Program length in months | Average graduation rate | Established benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | 92% | 84% |
| 4 to 6 | 84% | 73% |
| 7 to 9 | 72% | 60% |
| 10 to 12 | 69% | 55% |
| 13 to 15 | 64% | 50% |
| 16 to 18 | 62% | 47% |
| 19 to 23 | 61% | 43% |
| 24 or more | 53% | 40% |
The employment benchmark is a single number for all programs. The average employment rate is 78%, the standard deviation is 8%, and the established benchmark employment rate is 70%. Where a government entity requires an exam to work in a field, the benchmark is a 70% pass rate among students who take it, or a higher rate if another agency requires one.
A program below a benchmark may be required to implement a plan for improvement and submit progress reports (Section V(B)(7)). Appendix VI says that program is subject to additional monitoring or reporting, and that prolonged failure to meet a benchmark results in a programmatic or institutional action. Because Appendix VI ties action to prolonged failure, the trend across years matters as much as any single report.
For ACCSC-accredited schools
Shrink the unknowns before they reach the chart
Unknown graduates stay in the employment rate. Prentus runs an automatic monthly LinkedIn scan plus dozens of third-party sources and surfaces likely outcomes for your staff to confirm. Book a demo to see it on your programs.
Employment verification in brief
Every graduate counted as employed in the field needs a file that follows Appendix VII, the Guidelines for Employment Classification. The school must justify each classification and keep verifiable records. The G&E guide says classified graduates need documentation of the position, the date employed, the employer, and the employer contact person, address and phone.
ACCSC verifies Annual Report data during on-site evaluations and through a random sample each year (Section V(B)(4)). Per the G&E guide, graduate employment records from 10% of submitted reports go to an independent third-party audit, and renewal and initial applicants must have independent verification of their employment data. The details, including acceptable written and verbal proof, are in our guide to ACCSC employment verification requirements. If you are weighing outside verifiers, see CARS and MMI alternatives for placement verification.
Timeline and what happens if you are late
ACCSC sets the date each year and states it in the annual instructions. The 2023, 2024 and 2026 instructions all give early October dates.
| Report year | Due on or before | Period covered |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | October 9, 2026 | July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026 |
| 2024 | October 7, 2024 | July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024 |
| 2023 | October 6, 2023 | July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023 |
Under Section V(B)(3), failure to submit a complete Annual Report by the due date may result in late fees and any Commission action outlined in the Rules of Process and Procedure, including withdrawal of accreditation. Section V(A)(5) adds that failure to provide timely, complete and accurate reporting may be grounds for denial or withdrawal. After you file, the Commission reviews each report and will write to the school if it raises questions about continued compliance, with a response deadline.
- July. The reporting period closes June 30. Pull cohort lists by start date for every program.
- August and September. Classify graduates, chase unknowns, and complete the Excel version of the chart to catch errors early.
- Early October. Director certifies and the school submits online.
- Rest of the year. Keep the support organized by cohort start date, since that is how the Commission asks for it, and keep reaching graduates for next year.
Steps to prepare the report
- Check the program list. Confirm active and inactive programs, lengths, hours and credentials. Every active program needs a PES and either a G&E Chart or a Retention Chart.
- Enter program length in months and save. The chart then fills in the reporting window. Use the actual length including breaks, and report only class starts inside the window.
- Build the cohort rows. A student counts as a start when attendance creates a tuition, fee or other financial obligation under the refund policy, and any student enrolled 15 days after the scheduled start counts.
- Classify graduation outcomes. Use only the four permitted reasons to remove a student from the graduation rate.
- Classify each graduate. Employed in field, unrelated occupation, further education, unemployed, unknown, or one of the unavailable categories, with the evidence for each.
- Test in the Excel chart first. ACCSC staff note the spreadsheet shows errors that may not appear in the online report until you select complete.
- Certify, submit and file the support. The highest-ranking official certifies, and the backup stays on file by cohort start date.
Common mistakes
- One chart for programs with two lengths. A program offered at 8 and 12 months needs a separate chart for each version and one combined PES.
- Organizing by graduation date. The chart runs on cohort start dates.
- Treating late finishers as graduates. A student who completes after 150% of program length counts as a withdrawal on the chart.
- Over-using the unavailable categories. Only the listed reasons remove a graduate from the employment rate.
- Leaving reachable graduates as unknown. Unknown stays in the denominator, so each one lowers the rate.
- Reporting an employed graduate without the file. If Appendix VII evidence is not there, the classification will not hold up on review.
How Prentus helps
Prentus is the career outcomes platform. Students use one platform from day one until they are hired, and the same record feeds the outcomes your team reports. Prentus runs an automatic monthly LinkedIn scan plus dozens of third-party sources that verify employment. AI reviews those sources and surfaces what it believes are legitimate outcomes, and your staff confirm each one. First-destination surveys go out by email and SMS, and surveys you already run can be migrated in.
Your team still completes the ACCSC chart and holds the written or verbal verification that Appendix VII requires. The change is the starting point. Staff open each file with a dated, sourced lead, and fewer graduates land in the unknown column. Learn more about Prentus for career schools, the Workforce Pell placement measure, and how platforms compare in our guide to job placement software for colleges and career schools. If you also operate in California, read our guide to the BPPE annual report and placement rate. Health education programs can see the ABHES placement rate and annual report guide.
Primary sources
- ACCSC Standards of Accreditation and Rules of Process and Procedure (July 1, 2026), Section V and Appendices VI and VII
- Instructions for Completing the ACCSC 2026 Annual Report
- ACCSC Blueprints for Success, Graduation and Employment Chart
- ACCSC 2024 Annual Report FAQs and Tips
- ACCSC 2023 Annual Report instructions
This guide is general information, not accreditation advice. Confirm current requirements with ACCSC before you file.
