CHEA Advocacy in Action: Issue 6

February 5, 2025

CHEA, as an advocate for member institutions, consistently identifies political issues that may be impactful for accreditation and institutions. The brief below reflects one of those issues.

Issue Summary

The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) was invited to consult with the Trump Transition Team on January 7, 2025. The meeting’s focus was to discuss accreditation and how the Trump administration can better understand accreditation and its impact on colleges and universities. CHEA was pleased to share information and implications related to higher education accreditation.

Institutional Impact

Institutions are impacted by the U.S. Department of Education’s (USDE) regulatory requirements on institutions and accreditors. With the new administration’s campaign promise of fewer regulations, CHEA took the opportunity to suggest to the transition team several areas where regulatory and guidance changes could lessen the burdens on institutions and accreditors.

CHEA's Position

CHEA asserts that the higher education community best manages accreditation and quality assurance. The USDE should hold institutions and accreditors accountable, but it is more important that the higher education community conducts the work of educating students. Administrators, faculty, and accreditors are responsible for ensuring that education works for all. The USDE provides accountability for the community, but USDE should not mandate how higher education educates its students.

CHEA's Action

As part of a follow-up to the meeting, CHEA sent the Transition Team a summary of its comments discussed during the meeting for the Administration’s reference. Those suggestions include:

  1. Require the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) to act within its statutory role. This would narrow the function of NACIQI to be consistent with the scope used during the first Trump administration.
  2. USDE should remove the current guidance that requires prior USDE approval of institutions or programs that are not under sanction to change accreditors. Current guidance requires approval of the U.S. Secretary of Education, including when such changes are directed by state law.
  3. Permit institutions to obtain and retain dual accreditation without USDE involvement.
  4. Permit institutions that are not under sanction, to change their Title IV gatekeeper without USDE involvement.
  5. There is a current requirement that institutions use arbitration as a step to resolve negative accreditor decisions prior to filing in federal court. The USDE has expressed its feeling that binding arbitration among parties of unequal bargaining power was not appropriate. Accreditors’ arbitration requirements should not be binding or mandatory, thereby ensuring that institutions retain the ability to file in federal court, if necessary.

If accepted, these regulatory and guidance changes would reduce the burden on institutions and accreditors.

CHEA will continue conversations with the Trump administration appointees to the Department of Education and continue collaborative opportunities concerning academic quality for the benefit of students, families, institutions, and accreditors.

Council for Higher Education Accreditation serves its members, students and society through advocacy for the value and independence of accreditation, recognition of accrediting organizations and commitment to quality in higher education.