ACTA in the NewsTrusteeship
Calling Foul on the Accreditors
In recent weeks the topic of accreditation—normally a dense and inscrutable process at best—has garnered a remarkable level of attention...
WASHINGTON, DC—A subcommittee for the House Education and the Workforce Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow on higher education accreditation with American Council of Trustees and Alumni chairman Jerry L. Martin as a witness.
The focus of the hearing is “H.R. 4238, the College Access and Opportunity Act: Does Accreditation Provide Students and Parents Accountability and Quality?”
Six regional accrediting agencies are now gatekeepers of federal student aid funds—more than $40 billion annually. The legislative rationale for giving this power to accreditors is to ensure quality.
ACTA criticizes accreditors for their failure to ensure quality and calls upon Congerss to provide much-needed competition.
The American Council of Trustees and Alumni is a national network of college and university trustees and alumni dedicated to academic excellence, academic freedom and accountability. Last year, ACTA issued a report on accreditation, “Can College Accreditation Live Up to Its Promise?”
In recent weeks the topic of accreditation—normally a dense and inscrutable process at best—has garnered a remarkable level of attention...
Summary Higher education accreditation creates barriers to entry for innovative start-ups while being a poor gauge of program quality and student outcomes. What began as a voluntary system became a de facto requirement, with accreditors abusing their power. To harness the potential of new learning modes, policymakers should consider meaningful structural changes to this ossified […]
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