University of Maine System and Unified Accreditation

HEADLINES

University of Maine System Chancellor Meets with UMF Staff, Students (Daily Bulldog, October 8, 2019) “University of Maine System Chancellor Dannel Malloy visited the University of Maine at Farmington campus Tuesday, prior to a Board of Trustees meeting to discuss unified accreditation for the UMaine system. Unified accreditation has been previously discussed within the system, but a new acceptance for the concept on the part of the New England Commission of Higher Education has spurred the board to reconsider the concept.”

Accrediting Body to Conduct Formal Review of USC’s Presidential Search Process (The State, [South Carolina], October 7, 2019) “The University of South Carolina’s accrediting body will conduct a full, formal review of the school’s presidential search. The issue at hand is USC’s compliance with Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) requirements that there is no ‘undue influence’ in university matters, according a letter sent from the accrediting body’s president, Belle Wheelan, to President Robert Caslen and the chairman of USC’s board of trustees.”

Alaska Board Suspends Consideration of Controversial Merger (The Chronicle of Higher Education [subscription required], October 7, 2019) “The University of Alaska Board of Regents voted on Monday to suspend consideration of merging the system’s three separately accredited universities into one until the accreditation of the university at Fairbanks is secured in 2021.”

Bill Introduced to Protect Students From Sudden College Closures (Politico, "Morning Education" [after opening link, scroll down page to see item], October 4, 2019) “The Stop College Closures Act of 2019, from Reps. Donna Shalala (D-Fla.), Pete King (R-N.Y.) and Sean Casten (D-Ill.), would require accrediting agencies to do more to prevent and protect students from falling victim to sudden school closures.”

Bill Would Require Accreditors to Flag Failing Colleges Sooner (Education Dive, October 3, 2019) “A bipartisan bill announced Thursday in the U.S. House of Representatives would raise the bar for accreditors in an attempt to prevent college closures and lessen the blow to students when they do occur.”

Report: Transparency Alone Is Inadequate (Inside Higher Ed, October 4, 2019) “A report released by the think tank New America Thursday finds that transparency alone hasn't led to improvements in performance for the higher education sector. The author, Spiros Protopsaltis, argues that transparency measures must be used alongside consequential accountability with rewards and sanctions in order to hold colleges accountable.”