A new round of rulemaking aims to make it easier for new accrediting agencies to enter the market and for colleges to switch accreditors.
The U.S. Department of Education is taking a major step toward rewriting rules on how colleges and universities are accredited, a key aspect of the Trump administration’s higher education agenda.
In a notice published Jan. 27, the department said it is soliciting nominations for an upcoming advisory committee that will participate in a process known as negotiated rulemaking. Through that process, the department plans to develop new regulatory language this spring.
The committee will include stakeholders such as representatives for students, colleges, and accrediting agencies. Aspiring accreditors will have a seat at the negotiating table, according to the notice.
The panel is slated to address 10 topics outlined in the notice, and much of the discussion is expected to center on the first: how to make it easier for new accrediting agencies to enter the market and for colleges to switch accreditors.
Other key questions on the table include increasing agencies’ reliance on data-driven student performance benchmarks; continuing efforts to remove diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) requirements from accreditation standards; and changing the criteria by which accreditors are evaluated for federal recognition.
The department said it wants to place greater emphasis on “student achievement and outcomes, high educational quality, and high-value programs.”
Accreditors serve as gatekeepers for more than $100 billion in taxpayer funds that the department distributes each year in student aid. Without proper accreditation, schools cannot participate in programs such as federal student loans and Pell Grants, which are critical for lower-income students.
The current U.S. accreditation system, the department said, is failing in this responsibility to taxpayers.
“Rather than focusing on whether member institutions offer high-quality programs that benefit students and the workforce, the current accreditation regime has become a protectionist system that shields existing players, fuels rising costs, drives credential inflation, adds administrative bloat, allows undue influence from related trade associations, and promotes ideologically driven initiatives,” Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent said in a Jan. 26 statement announcing the department’s intent to form the negotiated rulemaking committee.
“We welcome nominations from key stakeholders willing to challenge the status quo,” he added.
By Bill Pan
