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...
ACTA President Anne D. Neal provided testimony to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions at their June 17 hearing on higher education accreditation, chaired by Senator Lamar Alexander. Her testimony emphasized the shocking failure of the current system of accreditation to ensure academic quality. She demonstrated the need for a new system—far less intrusive and expensive than the one we now have—that will provide consumer protection and clear information to guide students in the process of selecting a college. President Neal’s testimony, along with ACTA’s publications on accreditation, will form an important part of Congressional deliberations later this year on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. View video of the Senate hearing here.
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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