In a rare vote Thursday, a federal advisory panel recommended denying recognition to the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, a much-maligned accrediting agency. The recommendation reflects, in part, the U.S. Department of Education’s increasing focus on holding accreditors accountable for the performance of the colleges they oversee. But it also prompted some members of the advisory panel to wonder whether the department was trying to undermine the for-profit college sector. Most of the institutions that the accreditor oversees are in that sector.