ASIC is one of the accreditation bodies that has been recognized since 2007 by the now superseded UK Border Agency. According to its own website, ASIC has accredited 148 colleges and universities in the UK, and around 80 worldwide, of which 15 are US-based institutions.. The legitimacy of ASIC's international accreditation service is unclear and some of its internationally-accredited institutions have been deemed 'diploma mills' offering worthless qualifications, notably Atlantic International University.
Notable affiliations
ASIC is approved by the United Kingdom Government's Home Office to accredit private UK colleges for visa purposes. In addition it is a member or affiliate of the following organizations:
Note that membership of these umbrella bodies does not confer any status or approval on ASIC. For example, CHEA explicitly states that 'The Council for Higher Education Accreditation International Quality Group is an initiative associated with CHEA, a nonprofit institutional membership organization that provides coordination of accreditation. Eligibility for membership in CIQG is based solely on criteria published in CIQG documents. These criteria do not include any review, approval or judgment about the quality of any members. CIQG membership criteria are separate and distinct from criteria for membership in CHEA, are not related to CHEA recognition of accrediting organizations and do not constitute or connote any evaluation by CHEA of the CIQG member. CIQG Membership does not constitute membership in or review or endorsement by CHEA.'.
2009 criticism
In 2009, The Times reported that Maurice Dimmock, ASIC's director and chief officer, had been sacked in 2003 from his job at Northumbria University as director of overseas operations. The article stated that the newspaper had "established that the Home Office received, and ignored, concerns about ASIC and Mr Dimmock before it granted the company a contract. Northumbria University wrote to the UK Home Office in May 2007 to question the role the company was about to be given in distinguishing between genuine and bogus colleges." Universities UK, the advocacy group for British Universities, complained to the UK Immigration Minister concerning ASIC being given an accreditation role in the UK immigration scheme. In a letter to the Home Affairs Committee, Advocacy UK wrote: "There is a lack of information and transparency about management, governance and financial structures. Several of the colleges that it accredits have been associated with inappropriate activities." The government response to this was a statement that the 2007 decision was made on the basis of the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills's report that they were satisfied with the way ASIC was operating. ASIC responded to the allegations concerning its work of distinguishing between genuine colleges and those acting fraudulently had been hampered "by the Home Office’s refusal to tell ASIC how many student visas were issued for each college it inspects." In July 2009, ASIC submitted a response memorandum providing answers to the letter written by Diana Warwick, Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe, Chief Executive of Universities UK in which she had expressed concerns about the government's decision to approve the ASIC as one of the accreditation bodies within the new immigration system. In the response, ASIC provided information as to its accreditation and inspection processes and responded to charges regarding the organization's governance and finances.
Organisation
As of 2009, ASIC was headquartered in a village near Middlesbrough and had a staff of five. Its directors were Maurice and Margaret Dimmock.
