CHEA Comments on Florida Accreditation Bill

HEADLINES

CHEA Comments on Florida Accreditation Bill (Council for Higher Education Accreditation, March 9, 2022) “In letters sent to Florida’s governor, Commissioner of Education, Senate and House of Representatives, CHEA commented on accreditation provisions in a bill passed this week.”

Florida Lawmakers Put a Conservative Stamp on Higher Education (The Chronicle of Higher Education [subscription required], March 9, 2022) "The state’s Republican-controlled legislature approved a bill that requires public colleges to seek new accreditors. New rules approved under former U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos make it easier for some colleges to seek a new accrediting agency, but the mandate creates practical challenges, said Cynthia Jackson-Hammond, president of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, a group that represents accredited institutions. 'We are concerned that Florida legislators may not be aware that going to a new accreditor will take a lot of time and resources,' she said, and the 'cost can be voluminous, especially for a small institution.'"

Retiring Framingham State President and CHEA Board Member to Take Yearlong Position at Harvard (MetroWest Daily News, March 2, 2022) "F. Javier Cevallos, who will retire in August after eight years in Framingham, will serve as president-in-residence at Harvard Graduate School of Education for the 2022-23 school year. He said his passion for public higher education will stay strong, despite his time as a university president coming to a close."

Connecticut’s Community Colleges to Become a Single Institution (WFSB, March 8, 2022) “Connecticut’s community colleges will merge to become a single institution, its leaders announced on March 7. Connecticut State Colleges and Universities president Terrence Cheng and Connecticut State Community College interim president Michael Rooke sent a message to the CSCU community through which they announced that the New England Commission of Higher Education, the accreditor for all colleges and universities in Connecticut, accepted CSCU’s request for a substantive change.”

Three Consolidating State Schools to Become 'Commonweath University of Pennsylvania' (The Lead, March 2, 2022) "Three consolidating Pennsylvania state universities have a new name as they become a northeastern regional campus for students enrolling this year. The merging schools — Bloomsburg, Mansfield, and Lock Haven universities — will form Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania, following unanimous approval from the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Board of Governors. The new title still needs approval from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, which handles college and university accreditation."

Judging Institutions Based on Employment Outcomes (Inside Higher Ed, March 2, 2022) "Workforce Talent Educators Association wants to recognize, and conceivably accredit, institutions for how successfully they prepare students for work."