Accreditation & regulatory consulting · All 50 states

Accreditation guidance from people who have sat in the owner’s chair.

Accreditation Expert Consulting works with colleges, universities, career schools, allied health institutions, workforce training providers and other education organizations that need clear, practical guidance through state authorization, accreditation and regulatory compliance.

The firm is led by Dr. Ramin Golbaghi, a former college founder and operator with more than 20 years in higher education. He has carried the same responsibility institutional leaders carry: building programs, preparing regulatory submissions, hosting site visits, responding to findings, and keeping a school operating under several layers of oversight.

Book a consultation Take the free readiness questionnaire
BBB Accredited · A+ rating Owner-side regulatory experience California, USA

Experience at a glance

  • +20Years of higher education, regulatory, academic and consulting experience
  • +200Schools and institutions advised
  • 57Initial accreditation and reaffirmation engagements
  • +100Self-studies prepared or supported
  • 63Site visit readiness engagements
  • +400Deficiency, compliance and corrective action responses
  • +325Non-degree and degree-level curricula developed or aligned
  • 50States covered for authorization research and consulting

These figures reflect the cumulative professional experience of Dr. Golbaghi and the AEC consulting team. They are not a statement about how long Accreditation Expert Consulting has operated as a separate business.

Origin

Most institutions do not fail on writing. They fail on evidence.

AEC was created for a simple reason. Too many institutions enter an approval or accreditation process with good intentions but incomplete systems. Some have policies that do not match daily practice. Others have strong programs but weak evidence. Some submit before they are ready and spend months correcting problems that could have been identified earlier.

Our role is to give institutional leaders a clear view of where they stand. We study the applicable requirements, review what the institution has already built, and identify the gaps that could create difficulty during application review or a site visit. Then we work with the people responsible for the institution to correct those gaps in a way they can understand and maintain.

We write and review documents, but we do not stop there. We ask whether the faculty files support the catalog, whether the curriculum matches the stated outcomes, whether the website agrees with the enrollment agreement, whether leadership can explain its own policies, and whether the evidence exists to show that the policy is actually being followed.

We do not build a paper institution.

A well-written application matters, but it is only credible when the institution’s policies, people, records, technology, finances, curriculum and daily practices support what the application says. Our work begins there.

A consultant can guide, draft, review, organize and prepare. Institutional leaders must understand, approve, implement and maintain the systems represented in an application or self-study. We do not create an institution that exists only for review.

Read our professional standard

The owner’s chair

When your name is on the application, accreditation feels different.

Before establishing Accreditation Expert Consulting, Dr. Golbaghi founded and led Coast Career College, a private postsecondary institution in Southern California. As the institution’s chief executive, he was responsible for academic development, curriculum, regulatory submissions, institutional policies, compliance systems, site visit preparation, and the daily decisions required to keep a school operating.

You have to know whether the evidence is complete, whether the staff understands the policy, and whether the institution can do in practice what it promises on paper. That experience continues to shape the way AEC serves its clients.

Scope

Every approval pathway, treated on its own terms.

State authorization, accreditation, Title IV participation, VA education benefits, workforce eligibility and SEVP certification are separate processes. We use the correct terminology for each one.

Authorization to operate

Accreditation

Federal & specialized approvals

Institutional capacity

Agency names identify the standards our client institutions work under. They do not indicate endorsement, affiliation with, or approval of Accreditation Expert Consulting by those agencies.

Evidence before claims

A confident statement is not evidence.

Recommendations should be supported by applicable standards, regulations, agency guidance, institutional records and actual operating practice. That is the test we apply to an institution’s file, and the test we apply to our own advice.

Starting point

Where is your institution right now?

No two engagements are identical. The work depends on your location, accreditor, program mix, delivery method, ownership structure, approval status and immediate regulatory objective. Start where you are.

Pre-launch We are opening a new school Regulatory pathway research, application preparation, governance documents, catalogs, enrollment agreements and a realistic assessment of readiness to operate. Start here Urgent We received findings or a show-cause notice A clear account of what happened, why it happened, what has changed, who is responsible, and how the correction will be monitored. Start here Scheduled Reaffirmation is coming up Standards interpretation, assigned responsibility, self-study narrative, exhibits and evidence mapping that a reviewer can locate and follow. Start here Imminent A site visit is on the calendar Readiness reviews, mock interviews, document testing, staff preparation, technology checks and file sampling before reviewers arrive. Start here Expansion We are adding Title IV, VA or SEVP Separate approval systems, each with its own terminology, documentation and operating expectations — prepared and sequenced accordingly. Start here

Who we serve

  • Colleges and universities
  • Career and vocational schools
  • Allied health and healthcare education
  • Online and distance education providers
  • Continuing education organizations
  • Workforce training providers
  • International education organizations
  • Founders preparing to open a new school
  • Institutions facing substantive change or expansion

We begin by understanding these facts rather than forcing every client into the same template.

Next step

Start with an honest readiness assessment.

Regulatory problems often begin long before an application is filed. They begin when a school develops programs, policies, agreements, websites, staffing plans or financial projections without first confirming what the responsible agency or accreditor requires.

Whether you are opening a new school, pursuing accreditation, preparing for reaffirmation, developing a new program, expanding into another state, responding to deficiencies or getting ready for a site visit, the right first step is a candid assessment of your current position.

Not ready to talk yet

See our accreditation approach Articles & podcast

Professional disclaimer. Accreditation Expert Consulting provides educational, accreditation and regulatory consulting services. AEC does not accredit institutions, issue state authorization, certify Title IV eligibility, approve VA education benefits, approve workforce funding, or grant SEVP certification. Final decisions are made by the applicable government agencies, accrediting organizations and regulatory authorities. Consulting services do not guarantee approval or accreditation.