Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced initial actions to comply with President Trump’s Executive Order, Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education, which instructed the Department to allow institutions to more freely change accreditors and begin reviewing new accreditors. In response, the Department published a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) informing institutions of higher education that they will no longer have to undergo a lengthy process before changing an accreditor.
The Department also lifted the Biden Administration's moratorium on accepting and reviewing applications for initial recognition of potential new accreditors and notified one applicant that its petition is no longer paused and will be reviewed.
“We must foster a competitive marketplace both amongst accreditors and colleges and universities in order to lower college costs and refocus postsecondary education on improving academic and workforce outcomes for students and families,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “President Trump’s Executive Order and our actions today will ensure this Department no longer stands as a gatekeeper to block aspiring innovators from becoming new accreditors nor will this Department unnecessarily micromanage an institution’s choice of accreditor."
A copy of the DCL can be found here.
Background:
The Higher Education Act (HEA) and subsequent regulations require an institution to provide the Department with materials related to its prior accreditation and materials demonstrating reasonable cause for changing an accreditor. Implementing regulations list a series of adverse circumstances under which the Department may not approve an institution’s request for a change in accreditor, but they do not otherwise state the Department should withhold approval.
In July and September 2022, the Biden-Harris Administration released two DCLs which created a pre-clearance process to scrutinize the decision of an institution to choose a new accreditor. These have been revoked. The new guidance recognizes that institutions may choose to change accreditors for a variety of reasons, including:
- To find an accreditor who better aligns with a religious mission;
- If there is a shift in the type of academic programs offered;
- If state law requires a change in accreditor;
- If the institution wants to leave an accreditor for the types of standards it is imposing on the institution, such as requiring the institution to adopt discriminatory Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices and principles, among a variety of other reasons.
Today’s DCL explains that: “the law and regulation describe the requirements regarding what constitutes reasonable cause for changing an accrediting agency. It is not the Department’s prerogative to infer any other meanings from the basic requirements or contrive a multi-step investigation. This guidance re-establishes a simple process that will remove unnecessary requirements and barriers to institutional innovation.”
Lifting the Moratorium on New Accreditor Review:
On October 29, 2024, the Office of Postsecondary Education, placed a temporary pause on accepting and reviewing applications of potential new accreditors for initial recognition, citing a large volume of existing accrediting agencies currently under review for the upcoming year. One prospective new accreditor that had filed an application was notified that its application would be temporarily paused.