Agency withdraws local dive school accreditation

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A key accrediting agency has withdrawn from CDA Technical Institute, this time it’s the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training.

“I know of no school that has that type of accreditation that would be in a good place if they lost it,” said Phil Newsum, executive director of the Association of Diving Contractors International.

In a letter to the CDA campus director, ACCET supported its decision by saying CDA repeatedly failed to comply with its standards, specifically that CDA didn’t notify them about student diver deaths and failed to demonstrate stability, which requires responsible financial management. It mentions a bank that discontinued private loans and the VA’s withdrawal.

Newsum is the executive director of the Association of Diving Contractors International, which also cut ties with CDA.

“To lose that accreditation means you’d be severely limited in ability to access government funds on behalf of students to be able to pay for the tuition,” he said.

This is at least the fourth organization to cut ties with the school, the campus director for CDA told Action News Jax in an email the school appealed the ruling, adding “CDA’s owner has and will continue to add additional capital into the organization as needed until additional funding sources can be secured to assist students with paying for the cost of the education.”

When asked about not notifying ACCET of two student deaths, we were told, “The 2 student fatalities were tragic and devastating, however, the events did not impair the institution’s ability to continuously operate or fulfill its obligation to our students.” ACCET requires schools it accredits to notify them of what they describe as “catastrophic events” that hinder operations within 10 days of it happening.

Action News Jax also reached out to the Florida Department of Education and asked what comes next for CDA. The department acknowledged our email, but we are still waiting for more information.

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