The Department of Education is opening the door to new college accreditors in an effort to increase competition among regulatory bodies, a move the agency believes will strengthen student outcomes.
A new rule issued Thursday clarifies eligibility requirements for aspiring accreditation agencies and streamlines the application process for those seeking recognition by the government.
An agency must have performed “accrediting activities” for at least two years by the time of its application. Secondly, the department will take less than a year to review a petition.
Department officials intend to modernize the accreditation system and push colleges to better prepare students for the workforce.
“The Trump Administration is reforming the broken accreditation system to prioritize students, not legacy accreditors,” said Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent.
“Americans do not trust accreditors because they have failed to ensure educational quality at colleges and universities,” Kent continued. “Too often, accreditors have been focused on the wrong things, like promoting partisan ideologies, instead of ensuring quality outcomes for students.”
Your next read: Students don’t share the public’s doubts about their degree
The Trump administration has already pursued several efforts to change accreditation, including allowing colleges to change accreditors more freely and creating a committee to reform and strengthen the current system.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has also led efforts to shake up accreditation, which he’s stated is run by a “cartel” of legacy agencies that reinforce liberal ideologies on campus. Last summer, he introduced a new accreditor, The Commission for Public Higher Education. It has garnered interest from at least 10 colleges and universities across Texas, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina thus far.
While a larger accreditation landscape may promote competition, some experts are concerned that it may also “promote accreditor shopping.”
“[G]reat care must be exercised to approve only accreditors that are well-equipped to work with institutions to improve their programs,” Allison Garrett, attorney at Spencer Fane LLP, said in an email. “Institutions with marginal programs might seek the accreditor most likely to say ‘yes’ rather than the accreditor most helpful in improving overall quality.”
Nevertheless, legacy accreditors are already feeling the heat from lawmakers to adapt to new demands.
“To ensure our institutions remain student-centered, it may be time to rethink how we serve our learners and reassess whether we are lowering the barriers to education,” Maria Toyoda, CEO of the WASC Senior College and University Commission, said in a podcast with University Business.
