New Guidance on Accreditation Released

Taking steps to implement President Trump’s recent executive order on accreditation, the Department of Education lifted the Biden Administration’s moratorium on accepting applications for new accreditors and issued new guidance that will streamline the process for institutions seeking to switch accreditors or add additional accrediting agencies. 

In 2022, the Biden Administration released a series of guidance documents that established a new pre-approval process and a requirement to show reasonable cause for institutions seeking to switch to a new accreditor or add an additional accrediting agency. The Trump Administration has revoked those documents and replaced them with new guidance that allows institutions to switch or add accreditors for any reason other than those prohibited by statute, such as when accreditation has been withdrawn, revoked, or otherwise terminated for cause during the previous two years.

According to the Department, the reasons an institution may seek to change accreditors include, among others, better alignment with institutional mission, a shift in the types of academic programs offered, or the types of standards an accreditor imposes, such as requiring the adoption of “discriminatory Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices and principles.”

The guidance also states that institutions may switch accreditors if state law requires such a change, noting that the Department lacks the authority to interfere with such state laws and its view that a switch made due to state law does not constitute involuntary membership with an accrediting agency.

Finally, the guidance outlines the new process for switching or adding accreditors, noting that the intent is to reduce “onerous” barriers for taking these actions and to “conduct expeditious review” of such applications.

For more information, please contact:
Jody Feder