US Department of Education announces college accreditation reform  

The U.S. Department of Education is proposing new college accreditation policies aimed at reducing woke ideology and promoting student achievement, but accreditation agencies are already pushing back.

“At a time when Americans have lost trust in higher education, the Trump Administration’s proposed changes to the accreditation system are intended to reorient our quality assurance framework so that accreditors prioritize student outcomes rather than bureaucratic processes or the promotion of divisive and unlawful ideological agendas,” said Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent.

“The antiquated accreditation system has contributed to inflated tuition, administrative bloat and ideology-driven mandates on college campuses.”

The DOE opened public comment Aug. 19 on the proposed rule changes, which govern accreditation agencies, private entities charged with evaluating colleges to ensure they meet standards for high-quality education and career preparation.

However, the Trump administration argues they have become monopolistic and overly focused on woke ideology instead of student success.

Education reformers blame accreditation agencies for the rise of anti-racism and DEI in college curricula and point out they do very little to police quality.

Heritage Foundation Senior Policy Analyst Jonathan Butcher cites evidence that less than 3% of accreditor actions involve penalizing a college for poor academic outcomes or programs. And less than 1% of accredited institutions lose their accreditation.

Nevertheless, “more than 35 percent of accredited colleges fail to graduate half of their students, and those schools receive more than $20 billion in student aid annually,” another report says.

“If schools never lose accreditation and the accrediting process does not focus on academics, then what is the purpose of accreditation?” Butcher asks. “Only a select few institutions face meaningful consequences for subpar educational offerings or financial responsibility.”

In an executive order from April 2025, Trump called accreditors the “gatekeepers” of the $100 billion taxpayers spend through federal student aid.

“Many accredited institutions offer undergraduate and graduate programs with a negative return on investment – almost 25 percent of bachelor’s degrees and more than 40 percent of master’s degrees – which may leave students financially worse off and in enormous debt by charging them exorbitant sums for a degree with very modest earnings potential,” Trump wrote.

“American students and taxpayers deserve better, and my Administration will reform our dysfunctional accreditation system so that colleges and universities focus on delivering high-quality academic programs at a reasonable price.”

Now acting on the executive order, the Department of Education is proposing a slew of rule changes, including:

• Making it easier for colleges to change accrediting agencies or use multiple agencies 

• Removing geographic restrictions that limit institutional choices of agency 

• Clarifying rules so that recognition of an agency by the Department does not provide immunity from antitrust laws 

• Clarifying expectations regarding student achievement and faculty-related policies, including academic freedom and intellectual diversity 

• Requiring accrediting agencies to be ideologically neutral, unless they have a religious mission 

However, accreditation agencies have already voiced opposition to the new rules.

A statement from the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) said the proposed changes would “go beyond modernization and would significantly reshape the relationship among the federal government, accrediting organizations, states and institutions.”

“Provisions raise serious questions about the scope of federal oversight by imposing new requirements on accrediting organizations and institutions and prescribing aspects of how independent accrediting organizations conduct quality assurance,” said CHEA President Nasser Paydar.

“CHEA is also concerned by sweeping characterizations of accreditation in the Department’s proposal that do not reflect the complexity, diversity and record of American accreditation.”

The public can submit feedback on the proposed rules at www.regulations.gov until Sept. 21. Revisions could take effect as early as July 1, 2027.