USDE Publishes Proposed Accreditation Regulations

June 12, 2019

2019 CHEA Summer Roundtable: Accreditation and Federal Policy

June 20, 2019 - Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill-Washington, DC
Roundtable

Accreditation and Federal Policy is a one-day roundtable focusing on the latest federal policy developments affecting higher education accreditation. The roundtable is open to CHEA member institutions and CHEA- and U.S. Department of Education-recognized accrediting organizations. 

Speakers will include Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA), Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Investment; Diane Auer Jones, Principal Deputy Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education; Mary Barry, Policy Advisory to Senator Patty Murray, Ranking Member of the Senate HELP Committee; Katherine Valle, Senior Policy Advisory to Congressman Bobby Scott, Chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor; and a senior minority staff member of the House Committee on Education and Labor.

Click here for more information, including a registration form and link to the conference hotel for reservations.

HEADLINES

Secretary DeVos Advances Higher Education Reform Forged by Historic Consensus (U.S. Department of Education [News Release], June 11, 2019) “The U.S. Department of Education today announced the publication of proposed regulations designed to reduce the unnecessary regulatory burden associated with accreditor oversight of the nation's colleges and universities and to streamline state authorization requirements for distance education or correspondence courses. The 30-day period for public comment will begin when the regulations are officially published in the Federal Register on June 12.” (See the proposed regulations in the Federal Register; comments are due by July 12, 2019.)

How the Education Dept. Is Proposing to Ease Rules on Accreditation (The Chronicle of Higher Education [subscription required], June 11, 2019) “‘There are a number of things that we like in these proposed regulations,’ Judith Eaton, president of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, said in a written statement. The council favors the new requirements for teach-out plans and a proposed rule that would force colleges and accreditors to seek arbitration in any dispute before either party could file a lawsuit. Colleges nearly always file such suits after accreditors move to reject their accreditation, drawing out the process for years and putting a financial strain on the accreditor. But Eaton said the council ‘has questions’ about the proposal to allow accreditors to grant accreditation retroactively and increase the amount of time that colleges can come into compliance with federal regulations.”

Rewriting the Rule Book for College Accreditors (Inside Higher Ed, June 12, 2019) “The department launched the regulatory overhaul by consulting recommendations of industry groups like the American Council on Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as well as bipartisan proposals from a U.S. Senate task force on regulation of higher education, which was made up largely of college presidents.”

New Rules Proposed by Betsy DeVos Could Put Students at Risk of Attending Low-Quality Schools, Advocates Say (MarketWatch, June 12, 2019) “The watchdogs that certify colleges to participate in federal student loan programs could have less bite.”