Vermont Colleges to Merge Under One Accreditation

HEADLINES

Last First Day At Three Vermont Colleges Before a Major Merger (WCAX, August 22, 2022) "Vermont State University has already received initial accreditation from the New England Commission of Higher Education but officials say there’s still a lot of work to be done before next year to stay in compliance."

U.S. Department of Education Terminates Recognition of ACICS (U.S. Department of Education, August 19, 2022) “The U.S. Department of Education announced that colleges currently accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) will now be required to fulfill additional operating conditions for continued participation in the federal student aid programs. This requirement follows U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten's final decision to terminate federal recognition of ACICS.” (See also Education Department Terminates Controversial Accreditor, Inside Higher Ed, August 22, 2022)

Morris Brown College’s Hard Reset Has Started (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 15, 2022) “On August 15, after more than 20 years in the wilderness, Morris Brown began a school year under the auspices of academic accreditation.”

Not So Fast! Department of Education Puts Colleges on Notice About Accreditor Shopping (New America, August 9, 2022) “In a recent blog post released alongside a series of guidance memos for institutions of higher education, the U.S. Department of Education explained that it will not tolerate accreditation shopping as a race to the bottom when it comes to academic standards. The post points to Florida’s new accreditation law as one reason for the guidance.”

Helping Students Explore Transfer: How Phi Theta Kappa’s Transfer Honor Roll Can Help (Phi Theta Kappa, August 4, 2022) “Recently, the Joint Statement on Transfer and Award of Credit was updated for the first time since 2017, part of the work of the ACE National Task Force on the Transfer and Award of Credit. The statement, revised by ACE, the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation now better aligns with the significant changes occurring in the field, the impact the pandemic has had on accelerating these changes, and the increasing number of students relying on nonlinear higher education pathways.”