On June 20, 2023, Lindsey Burke and Adam Kissel of The Heritage Foundation and Armand Alacbay and Kyle Beltramini of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni published “It’s Time for Congress to Dismantle the Higher Education Accreditation Cartel.” This article proposed three main proposals for reform, four additional proposals for changes in federal law, and additional proposals for changes in federal regulation and state law.
The three core proposals are:
- Congress should take further steps to remove the monopoly still enjoyed by regional accreditors.
- Congress must prevent accreditors from using their gatekeeping power to impose inappropriate regulations on institutions. This entails reforming the “elastic clause” with respect to access to Title IV federal aid programs, making sure that—for Title IV purposes—accreditors’ fundamental standards do not include interference in governance or any push for race-based admissions or hiring.
- Congress should create an alternate path to Title IV funding eligibility.
The document linked here recommends specific changes that would implement the federal proposals.
State legislators interested in the state proposals, and anyone recommending different federal solutions, should contact Adam Kissel.
