U.S. Department of Education Expands Accreditation Options for Higher Education Institutions

The White House recently issued an Executive Order (“Order”) announcing a number of planned changes to the higher education accreditation process and accreditor requirements. Entitled Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education, the Order casts doubt on the efficacy of the current accreditation process and priorities of existing accreditors, and aims to streamline the accreditation process, foster competition, and increase flexibility for institutions in choosing accreditors.

Specifically, the Order directs the U.S. Secretary of Education to resume the Department of Education’s (“Department”) recognition process for new accreditors, ending a moratorium on additional recognitions that had been implemented toward the end of the previous presidential administration. With this action, the Department has resumed the review of applications, allowing one prospective accreditor’s petition to proceed.

The Order also directs the Department to adopt a refined process for those higher education institutions applying to change their institutional accreditor, an initiative the Department swiftly acted upon in a Dear Colleague Letter published on May 1st (“DCL”). The DCL provides that the Department will conduct an “expeditious review” of applications submitted by higher education institutions seeking to change their institutional accrediting agency, and notes institutions may elect to obtain accreditation from multiple accrediting agencies.

The Department’s new guidance clarifies that a variety of reasonable grounds justify a higher education institution’s decision to seek to change its accreditor, including aligning with a religious mission, responding to shifts in academic programs, complying with state law, or disagreeing with an accreditor’s standards. This shift is intended to foster a more competitive accreditation marketplace and provide institutions with autonomy in selecting an accreditor that aligns with their mission and operational needs.

Institutions considering changing their accreditor or exploring new accreditation options should review the updated guidance to ensure they understand the new policies and revised process.

Should you have any questions about the new policies or revised process, please contact Dina Vespia (dvespia@cullenllp.com), Jennifer McLaughlin (jmclaughlin@cullenllp.com), Nicole Donatich (ndonatich@cullenllp.com), Michael DiSiena (mdisiena@cullenllp.com), or Daniel Parise (dparise@cullenllp.com).

This advisory provides a brief overview of the most significant changes in the law and does not constitute legal advice. Nothing herein creates an attorney-client relationship between the sender and recipient.

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