2020 CHEA Annual Conference and CIQG Annual Meeting and Other Issues

HEADLINES

HE Seen as Failing on Social Mobility, OECD Expert Warns (University World News, February 3, 2020) “Change, change, and more change. That was the take-away from an international gathering last week in Washington, where quality assurance officials from more than 25 countries grappled with how higher education can preserve its value – and values – in the face of what organisers called diminished public confidence. The meeting of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation’s International Quality Group (CIQG) followed the council’s annual conference, which focused on higher education in the United States, where discussions centred on the encroachment of the federal government in matters related to accreditation.”

CHEA President Judith Eaton to Retire (Inside Higher Ed, January 29, 2020) “The Council for Higher Education Accreditation announced that Judith Eaton would retire as its president. Eaton has served as the council’s president for 22 years and joined shortly after its founding as an organization that represents colleges and universities on accreditation issues.”

Speaking to Accreditors, Ed Dept’s Auer Jones Emphasizes Autonomy in New Rules (Education Dive, January 29, 2020) “U.S. higher education is still ‘the envy of the world’ due to the diversity of experiences it offers students, but accountability should be tailored to what makes institutions unique, said Diane Auer Jones, Principal Deputy Under Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education. The remarks were made [on January 28] at the Council for Higher Education Accreditation's (CHEA) annual conference in Washington, D.C., in a discussion with the organization's president, Judith Eaton.”

U of Maine System Takes Step Toward Single Accreditation. Would It Work Elsewhere? (Education Dive, January 28, 2020) “At the Council for Higher Education Accreditation's annual conference, Diane Auer Jones, Principal Deputy Under Secretary at the Ed Department, suggested the department would be open to proposals for singular accreditation, saying there are several state systems that would 'save a lot of money' if they were accredited as a system instead of as single institutions.”

Five Minnesota Colleges to Merge as Enrollment Keeps Falling Statewide (West Central Tribune, January 29, 2020) “Five Iron Range colleges will become one under a proposal driven by persistent enrollment declines being felt throughout the Minnesota State higher education system. [The system’s interim president] said the colleges’ accrediting body, the Higher Learning Commission, signaled support for the plan in November.”

A Key Higher Education Industry Group Yanked Its Stamp of Approval From A Controversial For-Profit College Accreditor (Politico "Morning Education" [after opening link, scroll down page to see item], January 21, 2020) “The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools announced Friday that it had withdrawn its application for recognition that was pending before the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.”