House Education Committee Advances Accreditation Bills

The House Committee on Education & Workforce passed two accreditation reform bills on a party-line vote. Although the committee vote clears the path for advancing the two bills –the Accreditation for College Excellence Act (H.R. 2516) and the Accreditation Choice and Innovation Act (H.R. 4054) – to the House floor, they face an uncertain future in the Senate.

Both of the bills seek to advance Republican priorities regarding accreditation reform. Under the Accreditation for College Excellence Act, accreditors would be prohibited from requiring or encouraging institutions of higher education to support or oppose specific viewpoints on social, cultural, or political issues or the disparate treatment of any protected class under federal civil rights laws. Accreditors would also be prohibited from assessing an institution’s commitment to any such viewpoints or from interfering with the religious mission of faith-based institutions.

The Accreditation Choice and Innovation Act would make more expansive changes to accreditation in keeping with amendments proposed by last year’s Higher Education Act Reauthorization proposal from House Republicans, the College Cost Reduction Act. While some provisions in the bill would make positive changes to accreditation, such as efforts to reduce the types of actions subject to substantive change review and permitting risk-based accreditation review, other provisions raise significant concerns. Problematic provisions include sections that would allow states to designate industry-specific accreditors and that would require accreditors to focus on student outcomes, including price versus student earnings, learning outcomes, labor market outcomes, and student success outcomes.

Prior to the markup, NAICU joined a community letter sharing its views on the Accreditation Choice and Innovation Act with the committee.

For more information, please contact:
Jody Feder