Rubio Introduces Accreditation Legislation and Other Accreditation-Related Issues

Marco Rubio Renews Effort to Reform Higher Ed Accreditation (Sunshine State News, March 14, 2017) “U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is once again taking on the higher education ‘cartel’ as he brought back his proposal to reform accreditation on Monday.” (View news release.)

What DeVos’s Singular Focus on School Choice Could Mean for Higher-Ed Policy (Chronicle of Higher Education, March 14, 2017) “The Education Department is also experimenting with allowing new kinds of institutions – including companies, like StraighterLine, that offer low-cost courses but are not full-blown traditional colleges – to receive federal student aid. Such an approach could lead to student aid for a wider variety of nontraditional institutions, including short-term skills training at coding boot camps, though it would also require Congress and the Education Department to make significant changes in the accreditation system.”

Accreditation Council Outlines the Government’s Role in the Process (Education Dive, March 13, 2017) “A new Policy Brief from the Council for Higher Education Accreditation outlines concerns for the changing landscape.”

Dems Want Hearing on Ed Appointees (Politico “Morning Education,” March 7, 2017) “'In her confirmation hearings, Secretary DeVos made clear that in a number of critical areas – particularly post-secondary education – she would be relying heavily on appointees to drive policy and oversight,' the senators wrote in a letter to Sen. Lamar Alexander, the Republican who chairs the [Senate HELP] Committee.”

NACIQI Meeting Report Now Available (U.S. Department of Education Website, March 2017) “The report summarizes the deliberations of the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity
(NACIQI) at its February 22-24, 2017, meeting.”