Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Accreditation

September 28, 2022

HEADLINES

 Accreditation and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (Next Generation Assessment, September 2022) "Web Bites, a higher education podcast series, recently interviewed the President of the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy, on how the accreditor is addressing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion." (See also CHEA's webinar on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion featuring Dr. Ramaswamy). 

Stratford University, an ACICS-Accredited For-Profit College, Plans to Close (Higher Ed Dive, September 26, 2022) "Stratford University, a for-profit institution with campuses in Virginia, Maryland and India, is planning to close Sept. 30, the end of the current term. The university informed students via email Friday. Stratford is closing about a month after the U.S. Department of Education revoked recognition of its accreditor, the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools."

How Hiring Policies Can Help End Workplace Harassment (Nature, September 26, 2022) "Susan Fortney, a law scholar at Texas A&M University, argues that accreditation should also have a standard for due diligence in hiring that includes disclosure of misconduct investigations. Universities could have leeway in deciding how to meet the standard, but their need to comply would decrease the likelihood that harassers get passed on to other institutions."

Arizona Shuts Down Aspen University Nursing Program (Higher Ed Dive, September 21, 2022) "Aspen University, a 9,100-student for-profit based in Phoenix, surrendered its prelicensure nursing program licensing after informing the Arizona State Board of Nursing it will not be able to meet the state’s minimum exam pass rate for 2022. Students who are already enrolled can continue their studies and graduate within two years. The state’s board of private colleges and Aspen’s accreditor, the Distance Education Accrediting Commission, will oversee the teach-out and outgoing transfers."