Education Department to Push for Major Changes in Accreditation

The U.S. Department of Education, overriding opposition from colleges and accreditors, is pushing ahead with a plan to remake American higher education by requiring that colleges show results if they want to remain eligible for more than $90-billion in federal student aid. At the end of a three-day session last month, representatives of colleges and accrediting associations on a negotiating panel refused to accept a crucial part of the department's plan for introducing new measures of "student outcomes" into the federal rules that govern the process of college accreditation. The session was the panel's last scheduled meeting, although the department official leading the talks left open the possibility of renewing the negotiations. This article discusses the panel's response to the department's proposals on guarding institutional autonomy while transforming accreditation, as well as the debate over transfer credits.