HEA 101 Quick Guide: Accreditation

(HEA Title IV , Section 496) Additional Resources Statutory Language   Regulatory Language

What's New

On October 27, the Department of Education published final regulations dealing with accreditation. [See regulatory language for link.]

Quick Take

The efforts of the Department of Education to dictate the establishment and measurement of student achievement standards were stopped decisively by the new law, which prohibits the Secretary from regulating student achievement or any other accreditation standards.  This was a hard-fought battle and is a significant victory.

Other provisions in the law related to accreditation include:

• A requirement that accreditation standards respect the stated mission of the institution of higher education, including religious missions
• Several revisions to due-process requirements for accreditation agencies
• Provisions dealing with distance education, growth monitoring, teach-outs, disclosure of agency actions, and transfer of credit

 In related provisions, the new law also makes substantial changes to the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI). 

When Will This Take Effect?

The provisions regarding accreditation went into effect when the bill was signed into law on August 14, 2008. The Secretary of Education is prohibited from regulating any of the accreditation standards listed in Section 496(a)(5). All of the other accreditation provisions were subject to negotiated rulemaking.  Final regulations were published on October 27, 2009.

Who On Campus May Need to Be Involved?

Offices involved with accreditation and distance education offerings; campus legal counsel

Additional Resources

• Distance Education
• NACIQI Provisions

Statutory Language

• Accreditation
• NACIQI Provisions

Regulatory Language

Earlier Developments

On August 6, 2009, the Department of Education published proposed regulations dealing with accreditation. These proposals were negotiated by Team III, which reached consensus on them. NAICU was represented on the accreditation team and, therefore, did not comment negatively on the proposals.