Accrediting agencies should no longer serve as gatekeepers to federal financial aid, argues a new report by Hank Brown, a former president of the University of Colorado and Republican U.S. senator. The current accreditation system squelches innovation, interferes with colleges’ autonomy, and is riddled with conflicts of interest, Brown said in the report, which was co-sponsored by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni and the American Enterprise Institute. In addition to separating eligibility for federal aid funding from accreditation, Brown’s report called for accreditors to use transparent performance metrics. The call to break the link between accreditation and federal financial aid has frequently been made by Anne Neal, who is president of the trustees’ group.
The failure of Congress to reform the Higher Education Act since its last reauthorization in 2008 has had devastating consequences for America’s students and taxpayers. For too long, the federal response to rising costs and dismal completion rates has been to throw more money at the problem.
As a new administration comes into office and Congress begins its first session, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) calls on our representatives to turn their attention to American higher education and finally take decisive action. There is much to be done, but change is most urgently needed in the following five areas: […]
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