February 2026
Introduction
The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) has developed a new publication entitled Policy Watch. This publication provides accreditation stakeholders and CHEA-eligible institutions with updates on developments affecting accreditation from the White House, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE), the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, and the federal courts.
We hope you find this publication informative and useful.
U.S. Department of Education
U.S. Department of Education Announces Negotiated Rulemaking to Reform and Strengthen America’s Accreditation System
The U.S. Department of Education announced its intent to convene a negotiated rulemaking committee—Accreditation, Innovation, and Modernization (AIM)—to develop proposed regulations that would: simplify the Secretary’s recognition of emerging and existing accreditors; examine the extent to which accreditation contributes to credential inflation; safeguard against undue influence from related trade associations; eliminate standards or policies that discriminate; and refocus quality assurance and improvement on data-driven student outcomes.
The AIM committee has identified the following topic areas for negotiation:
- Deregulation: Addressing regulations that impede the entry of new accreditors, reduce burdensome and duplicative requirements that hinder efficient reviews, and require accrediting agencies to minimize unnecessary costs to institutions.
- Student Outcomes: Establishing expectations that accrediting agencies assess quality using data-driven student outcomes.
- Merit: Ensuring accreditor standards comply with all federal civil rights laws.
- Integrity: Strengthening requirements to prevent misleading information to students or the public, reinforcing separation between accrediting agencies and related trade associations; and reforming transfer-of-credit policies.
The deadline to submit nominations for negotiators is February 27, 2026. The AIM Committee will convene for two five-day sessions in April and May.
Institutions and accreditors will need to develop a consensus about which changes to accreditation would be useful
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Student Loans and Workforce Pell
The USDE has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to simplify student loan repayment and quality assurance standards for Workforce Pell Grant programs. These provisions were enacted as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and are scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2026.
USDE is requesting comments on the proposed rules by March 2, 2026.
The proposal includes:
- Eliminating the Grad PLUS loan program
- Beginning in July 2026:
- Limiting new graduate students to $20,500 in federal student loans per year (with a $100,000 aggregate limit).
- Limiting new professional students to $50,000 in federal student loans per year (with a $200,000 aggregate limit).
- Allowing institutions to establish program-level loan caps below the statutory limits.
- Creating a tiered, standard repayment plan and an income-driven repayment plan. The tiered standard plan offers fixed terms—10, 15, 20, or 25 years—based on the loan balance.
The U.S. Department of Education (USDE) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking stakeholder feedback on potential updates to the Accreditation Handbook. USDE is seeking suggestions to “improve clarity, transparency, and efficiency in the accreditor recognition process and to reduce unnecessary administrative burden.”
Suggestions made in response to the RFI “may also inform future accreditation regulatory reforms and could be referenced in upcoming negotiated rulemakings in the spring.” The RFI responses will inform the USDE’s implementation of the president’s Executive Orders on education.
CHEA has submitted comments in response to the RFI, emphasizing the need to modernize the Accreditation Handbook and to more realistically reflect what accreditation does—and does not—do. Specifically, CHEA recommended the elimination of geographic scope requirements, removing additional requirements for distance education and any requirement that makes accrediting organizations responsible for intellectual diversity on a campus. Accrediting organizations are not and should not be involved in an institution’s hiring or tenure process.
Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE)
In its effort to change accreditation, USDE has announced grants under the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). These grants support accreditation reform and capacity-building for high-quality short-term programs.
The grants focused on accreditation reform are divided into two priorities: switching institutional accreditors and creating new accrediting agencies.
Ten grant awards in the accreditation space were announced: six for $1 million each and four awards exceeding $999,000. These grants are intended to assist in developing new accreditors or changing accreditors.
The Commission for Public Higher Education and Postsecondary Commission, Inc. is among the organizations trying to develop new accreditors. Other grants are to help institutions change accreditors.
The White House
Executive Order: Wind-Down of the U.S. Department of Education
In March 2025, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order directing Education Secretary McMahon to winding down the operations of the USDE. The Department cannot be closed without Congressional approval, and current projections indicate insufficient Senate support to achieve this objective.
Executive Order: Accreditation Reform
A second Executive Order, April 2025, directs the Secretary of Education to overhaul the accreditation process by Increase accreditor competition. Institutions and accreditors are awaiting details on the regulations USDE may develop to implement these directives.
Development of a New Accrediting Organization
Several states, led by Florida, are working to develop an accreditor for their public institutions called the Commission for Public Higher Education (CPHE).
The states include Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. Louisiana is recommending that its public institutions join CPHE, and the Iowa legislature is considering legislation that would require public institutions to join this accreditor.