Copyright© 2007 by School Services of California, Inc.

                                      Volume 20                   For Publication Date: July 6, 2007             No. 15

Congress to Block Accreditation Changes 

The U.S. House of Representatives recently approved legislation to reauthorize the Higher Education Act with language that prohibits the U.S. Department of Education from making changes in the accreditation process by specifically cutting off funds for those changes.   

The bill was approved shortly after Senator Lamar Alexander—Tennessee sent a letter warning Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings that he would stop her department from using its regularity authority to transform the way colleges are accredited. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Department is considering regulations that would introduce new measures of “student-learning outcomes into accreditation and prohibit colleges from denying the transfer of academic credits solely on the basis of the sending college’s type of accreditation.” This push by the Department has garnered wide criticism by the higher education community and has been viewed as an attack on the discretion of accrediting agencies.   

The language pushed by the Congressional Committee would prohibit the Department from issuing any final regulations on accreditation until after Congress passes the much-delayed reauthorization bill. According to Senator Alexander, “Congress needs to legislate first, then the department can regulate.” 

At the request of the U.S. Senate, college presidents, and lobbyists, the Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee, Representative David Obey (D-Wisconsin) added the spending restriction to the bill, joining Senator Alexander and others in sending the message that the Department must wait for Congress to act. 

The education community lobbied hard for this amendment. Specifically, Dr. Barbara Beno, President of the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges—which accredits California community colleges—sent notification to all commissioners indicating that their efforts had been successful in gaining more support in Congress to stop the “negotiated rulemaking process” initiated by the Department. 

Senators Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) and Michael Enzi (R-Wyoming) sent a letter to Secretary Spellings informing her of the proposed changes. Specifically, they indicated that the changes “will strengthen our nation’s accreditation system by clarifying the Department of Education’s responsibilities with respect to recognizing accreditation agencies and organizations.” A copy of the letter is in Attachment A. 

With the new language and push back from Congress, many in the higher education community believe that the Department’s push toward new regulations will be slowed and possibly eliminated. The legislation still needs the approval of the full Committee on Appropriations before moving to the House floor for debate and vote. 

—Jamillah Moore, Ed.D.