Policymakers | Trusteeship

Call to Reform Accreditation

INSIDE HIGHER ED   |  October 1, 2013

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.

RELATED
CONTENT

ACTA in the NewsDepartment of Education

Quality education needs an act of Congress

This week, higher education experts are meeting in Washington to update regulations about accreditation — the quality assurance process that oversees $110 billion taxpayer-funded financial aid dollars. Many of the conversations had during this process are valuable, like those about strengthening student outcomes and academic freedom protections. But the Trump administration’s reliance on making accreditation changes through regulatory action rather than […]

ACTA in the NewsAccreditation

Institutions Prepare for New Accreditation Regulations

As the Department of Education heads into its second week of negotiations over accreditation policies, the proposed regulations remain largely unchanged, higher education experts say. That has triggered concerns among institutions and their accreditors about the operational burdens that the sweeping regulatory proposal could impose. The draft—first released in mid-April and updated on May 11—could dramatically change how accreditors […]
WHO WE ARE

Launched in 1995, we are the only organization that works with alumni, donors, trustees, and education leaders across the United States to support liberal arts education, uphold high academic standards, safeguard the free exchange of ideas on campus, and ensure that the next generation receives an intellectually rich, high-quality college education at an affordable price.

Discover More