Accreditation

Leaders of West Virginia’s Bluefield State University ended the Faculty Senate, among other changes that drew faculty criticism. Now, the university president has written a blog post mulling firing certain dissenters.

In the face of unprecedented political interference, Florida’s public universities have no right to be accredited, Brian Rosenberg writes.

The accrediting agencies’ collective failure to hold low-performing colleges accountable against objective standards harms students and taxpayers, Jay Urwitz writes.

The Education Department’s docket for this year includes amending regulations on accreditation, state authorization, distance education, cash management and third-party servicers. Plus, the agency plans new Title IX and gainful-employment regulations this spring.

The shift away from the Higher Learning Commission is possible because the WASC Senior College and University Commission has broadened its scope to include institutions wherever they reside.

Education officials in Florida have been meeting with agencies as they seek a new accreditor for state colleges and universities. A lengthy and expensive process awaits.

Ambow Education purchased Bay State College in 2017 and the NewSchool of Architecture & Design in 2020. Now critics say both institutions are in shambles.

Deputy Education Secretary Cindy Marten issued a final decision on the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools.