An Interview with CHEA’s President Cynthia Jackson-Hammond

HEADLINES

CHEA President: As Accreditation Rules Change, Colleges Can Benefit from Choices (Education Dive, September 26, 2020) “Cynthia Jackson-Hammond is optimistic new oversight rules can help institutions innovate.”

The Rise of Dual Credit (Education Next, September 22, 2020) "The commission reminded institutions in 2015 that dual enrollment instructors had to have a master’s degree or 18 graduate-level credit hours in the subject they were teaching. That set off a scramble among colleges in the commission’s 19-state jurisdiction. Though a majority of teachers in those states possessed master’s degrees, many of their degrees were in education, not a specialty. Faced with the threat of widespread cancellations of classes, the commission issued a reprieve, giving programs seven years to come into compliance."

University of Tennessee Pushes Back Start of Spring Semester and Cancels Spring Break (Knoxville News, September 17, 2020) "The changes will help reduce the potential for travel-related spread of COVID-19 while maintaining the required number of instructional days and meeting accreditation and federal aid requirements, UT said in a news release."

Accreditation and the National Conversation on Equity (Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, September 15, 2020) “A webinar featuring Cynthia Jackson-Hammond, President of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), discussing national perspectives on the accreditor’s role in promoting student equity.”

Google Just Changed the Higher Education Game. Colleges and Universities Should Be Paying Attention (Business Insider, September 13, 2020) "Google's Career Certificates demonstrate that traditional higher education is no longer the only dominion of accredited higher education institutions. Instead, I predict there will be a variety of entrants moving into the higher education space, offering valuable credentials and providing the skills needed to launch professionally. What Google figured out is that employers don't care about accreditation, they care about competencies. With its brand recognition, Google can offer a credential that has real value."