The U.S. Department of Education’s proposed rule to overhaul the federal accreditation system is reshaping the broader national debate over accreditation. Among other changes, the proposal would simplify the process…
For years, universities have embraced accreditation standards that echo their own ideological commitments, especially around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). These standards haven’t felt like external requirements so much as…
In recent years, federal policymakers have pursued sweeping higher-education reforms. Yet these efforts are often slow, legally contested, and subject to reversal. For example, during both of his terms of…
Members of the North Carolina General Assembly have spent years pursuing higher-education reform and reclaiming authority over the state’s university system. Legislators in other states have done likewise. Yet another…
The Higher Learning Commission (HLC), one of the nation’s largest institutional accreditors with more than 1,000 member organizations, recently announced a new endorsement application for short-term-credential providers, including microcredential organizations.…
Complaints about the Commission for Public Higher Education’s (CPHE) proposed solutions to accreditation problems are unwarranted. This October, the Chronicle of Higher Education ran an article titled “Will the Commission…
The email dropped into my university account with a quiet ding, an inauspicious start to what would become an unwanted foray into the messy world of AI “false positives.” With…
A number of “sacred cow” beliefs regarding higher education are (finally!) coming under scrutiny. One of them is that it is important for the American Bar Association (ABA) to oversee…
RALEIGH, N.C. (June 25, 2025)—The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal has sent two letters to the US House Committee on Education and the Workforce praising pending legislation on…
Over the last 25 years or so, one model of university accreditation has given way to another. Under the old system, colleges submitted to invasive but essentially nonpartisan examination of…