U.S. Department of Education to Update Accreditation Handbook to Support High-Quality, High-Value Education

The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) today issued a Request for Information (RFI) to solicit feedback from the public on how best to reenvision and update the Accreditation Handbook (Handbook). By updating the Handbook, the Department continues to advance its goal of significantly reforming the accreditation system through reduction of unduly burdensome and bureaucratic requirements and increasing transparency and efficiency.

The Department continues to evaluate the entire accreditor recognition process to ensure not only that accreditors act as effective gatekeepers for more than $100 billion in federal aid provided annually, but also that they themselves are held accountable for ensuring their member institutions provide high-quality, high-value programs free from unlawful discrimination or other violations of Federal law. Changes to the accreditation handbook will complement a forthcoming negotiated rulemaking on accreditation, which the Department plans to convene next year.

"The Department is excited to continue implementing President Trump's Executive Order to reform and strengthen our accreditation system," said Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education Dr. David Barker. "Instead of driving high-quality programs that better serve students, the antiquated accreditation system has led to inflated tuition costs and fees, administrative bloat, and ideology-driven initiatives at colleges across the country. We are excited to receive feedback on how best to update the Handbook, streamline guidance, and eliminate bureaucratic headaches for accrediting agencies and associations."

The RFI is a critical step in the Department's efforts to gather input on how to continue to reform the accreditation system to improve student outcomes. It specifically invites commenters to consider the following questions:

• What policies or standards are encouraging innovation or reducing college costs within the postsecondary education sector and should be retained in or added to the new version of the Handbook? How can the Handbook be designed to be less burdensome?
• Is the Handbook serving its intended purpose? How can it better assist accrediting agencies and associations in evaluating the quality of educational institutions and programs or in applying for Federal recognition?
• How could accreditation standards be updated to incentivize intellectual diversity on campus? What guidance or standards, if any, can the Handbook provide to institutions and programs to help achieve this goal?
• What methods should be incorporated into the Handbook to determine appropriate assessment benchmarks, and what data sources or validation methods could be used to ensure those benchmarks reflect student competency?
• The Department invites interested stakeholders to provide comments over the next 45 days on how best to streamline the recognition process and guidance for accreditors.

Background

The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, directs the Department to determine if an accrediting agency or association is a reliable authority as to the quality of education or training for the purposes of awarding federal student aid. The Department maintains a Handbook that provides guidance to institutional and programmatic accreditors as to how to comply with the Secretary's criteria for recognition. The Handbook was last updated in February of 2022, and the Department intends to revise the Handbook again to comply with updated guidance and policy changes while incorporating feedback from the public and to align with Administration priorities.

Public Feedback

The RFI has been published for public inspection in the Federal Register and interested parties will have 45 days once it is officially published to submit feedback on topics they wish to be considered for inclusion.

Comments must be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov. If you require an accommodation or cannot otherwise submit your feedback via Regulations.gov, please reach out to the program contact outlined in the RFI.

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