USDE Schedules Accreditation Negotiated Rulemaking

HEADLINES

Education Department Presses Forward with Review of Accreditation and Distance Education Rules (Higher Ed Dive, November 28, 2023) The agency will conduct negotiated rulemaking next year, which brings together representatives of different groups to discuss policy details. The USDE moved forward this week with plans to review wide-ranging higher education regulations, including those governing accrediting agencies, distance education, and how colleges receive and manage Title IV federal student aid funding.

California Has No Accredited Native American Colleges. That Could Change.  (East Bay Times, November 27, 2023) It has been a generation since California had an accredited tribal college serving the state’s Native American residents. An Inland Empire college is trying to change that. Tribal colleges and universities are a federally designated category of higher education institutions, which are controlled and operated by federally recognized tribes.

No More Attending Classes: These Community Colleges Let Students Learn at Their Own Pace  (The 74, November 24, 2023) California is to become the first state to coordinate competency-based programs across eight community college campuses using state-backed curricula. The biggest hurdle, according to an ACCJC spokesperson, was getting accreditation for the courses, which sometimes rely on knowledge that students have gleaned outside traditional learning settings rather than traditional evaluation methods.

Reinstating Pell Grants in Prisons Moves Slowly After 26-Year Ban  (Inside Higher Ed, November 17, 2023) Under the Department of Education regulations for Pell eligibility, prison education programs must be approved by state corrections agencies, the federal Bureau of Prisons, an accreditor, and the U.S. Department of Education.

Iowa University Board Votes to Roll Back DEI Initiatives  (Higher Ed Dive, November 16, 2023) The Iowa Board of Regents approved recommendations to eliminate all campuswide diversity, equity and inclusion efforts that are not required to stay compliant with the law or accreditation standards. 

Registration Open – 2024 CHEA/CIQG Annual Conference – “Quality Assurance Matters”  Join us at the 2024 CHEA/CIQG Annual Conference scheduled for January 29-February 1 in Washington, D.C. This year’s in-person event promises to build on the excitement and successes of last year’s Annual Conference. The theme for the four-day conference is “Quality Assurance Matters,” a premise that seeks to engage the global CHEA/CIQG community. Register today!