New York Times Editorial on Accreditation and Other Accreditation-Related Issues

College Accreditors Need Higher Standards (New York Times Editorial, October 20, 2016) “The system is clearly in need of repair. A bill pending in the Senate would be a start. It proposes several changes in the law, most important a provision that would require the Education Department to write standards dealing with graduation rates, job placement rates, loan repayment rates and other criteria that accrediting organizations would have to apply when evaluating colleges.”

Quality and Competency (Inside Higher Ed, October 21, 2016) “A group of colleges that offer competency-based education programs this week released a draft set of voluntary quality standards for the emerging form of higher education."

The Obama Administration Is Preparing for More College Shutdowns (BuzzFeed, October 14, 2016) “The Obama administration is preparing for more colleges to be forced to shut down, a top Education Department official says, as the watchdog that oversees much of the for-profit college industry is pushed out of business.”

Are Traditional Campuses Going the Way of Blockbuster and Circuit City? (Washington Post, October 14, 2016) “One day, instead of passing by empty Circuit City stores that now litter our landscape, might we see abandoned college campuses?”

Forget Accreditation. Bring on the College Audit. (Chronicle of Higher Education, October 18, 2016) “Accrediting agencies are increasingly under fire for what their critics contend is weak or misguided oversight — and reformers and even members of Congress argue that the changing educational landscape demands a more innovative and results-oriented way to ensure that educational programs deliver on their promises. Against that backdrop, the push for an audit-style approach to educational outcomes is gaining steam.”

Could HE Rankings Be Socially Transformative? (University World News, October 14, 2016) “Single-minded pursuit of rankings has created a schism between local, regional, national and global responsibilities – the implications of which extend beyond higher education itself.”

Global Rankings and the Geopolitics of Higher Education (published by Routledge, 2016) “Global Rankings and the Geopolitics of Higher Education is an examination of the impact and influence that university rankings have had on higher education, policy and public opinion in recent years.”