Petition for Change in Control or Legal Status

Commission-accredited schools must petition for approval prior to undergoing a change in control or legal status. This type of change includes mergers, acquisitions, formal federations, or partnerships where one or more partners change their forms of control or legal status. This type of change also includes a member school acquiring a non-member school, or a member school converting from for-profit to non-profit status or vice versa (per Policies and Procedures IV.C and IV.C.1).

Given the complexity of these types of changes, schools considering any of these changes should consult with their Commission staff liaison as soon as possible and as often as needed—well before the submission of this petition. In completing this petition form, please include links to additional documentation as requested or as deemed helpful. Your Commission staff liaison will contact you if there are any questions regarding this petition.

NOTE: As stated in Policies and Procedures IV.C.1, restructuring a school's governance or revising its bylaws is not considered a substantive change, as long as there is no change of ownership, governing control, or legal status. Changing a school's legal name (including any new "doing business as" designation) is not considered a substantive change but does require notification to, and acknowledgement by, the school's Commission staff liaison (see ATS petitions and notifications webpage).

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Please note: you are able to save and return to this form as needed. Click "Save" at the bottom of any page and enter your email address. An email will be sent to you from Jotform (via noreply@jotform.com) which contains a link to your form in progress.

When finished, please submit this petition to the ATS Accrediting Records Coordinator by hitting the "submit" button below. You can expect an automated confirmation email within a few minutes. There is no fee for this (or any) Commission petition. Please do not send any paper copies or any emailed attachments; submit only this completed, online form (including any links to additional information requested).

NOTE: Petitions for change in control or legal status are decided by the Board of Commissioners only at their semi-annual meetings usually in February and June (see submission deadlines on ATS petitions and notifications webpage). If approved, this type of substantive change requires a focused evaluation visit within six months of the effective implementation date to determine that the change has not adversely affected the school's ability to meet the Commission's Standards of Accreditation (per Policies and Procedures IV.C and III.D.1).