Distance Education & Training Council

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
530115490
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2022345100
Rating confidence
Limited

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,086,217
Expenses
$3,774,411
Assets
$8,038,785
Liabilities
$3,866,660

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LEAH MATTHEWS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • LEAH MATTHEWS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $439,794 total reported compensation
  • NAN RIDGEWAY (DIRECTOR OF ACCREDITATION): $248,267 total reported compensation
  • LISSETTE HUBBARD (MGR. OF INST. DEV. & ASSESSMENT): $148,844 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The detc is a voluntary, non-governmental, educational organization that does business as a nationally recognized accrediting association, the distance education accrediting commission. The distance education accrediting commission defines, maintains, (continued on schedule o)and promotes educational excellence in distance education. The commission fosters quality assurance, protection of the rights of the students and institutional self-improvement through voluntary accreditation via peer evaluation. Detc accreditation aims to instill public confidence in detc institutions' missions, goals, performances and resources through a rigorous and fair application and peer-developed accreditation standards.

What it reported doing in 2025

Distance education & training council has been the standard-setting agency for correspondence study and distance education institutions since it was established in 1926. Its purpose was, and still is today, "to foster and preserve high quality, educationally sound and widely accepted distance education and independent learning institutions."the distance education accrediting commission provides institutional accrediting functions. Accredited member institutions offer more than 500 different academic, vocational, and avocational courses by online learning or by mail.meetings and conferences were held to provide (continued on schedule o) information and consulting regarding accreditation and compliance. Sponsorships of meetings and conferences served as primary forum for accreditation and quality involving the academic and accreditation communities.the detc conducts a continuing professional development program for distance study educators. Workshops, seminars and conferences devoted to distance education are held each year and are open to any individual with an interest in distance education.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 95% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: NotEnoughData
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 44
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: Limited
  • Program expense ratio: Limited
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 7.6%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.13; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.48; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 26.8%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.3% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
  • Leadership: top reported pay $440K · 19 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $238K reported
  • Consistency: 13 of 13 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 filed money-flow records
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 50/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 59/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 17/100.