Higher education reform in the U.S. is focused on affordability, post-completion outcomes, academic quality, social activism, and the relevance of accreditation to all the above. Without controversy, accreditation is most effective when accomplished through the voluntary affiliation of comparative institutions and organizations using a process of peer review. These principles are implied and expressed in federal policy (20 U.S.C. § 1099b(a)(2) and 34 C.F.R. § 602.14(a).
A formal explication of “voluntary and peer” is under review now by the federal courts. Stakeholders are opining about when the statutory intent of ‘voluntary’ is upheld or undermined. The primary adversaries are the State of Florida and the U.S. Department of Education through a case that derives from a 2022 Ed.Gov guidance.
A Washington D.C.-based think tank has weighed in with technical arguments that merit consideration by organizations that have an interest in accreditation choice, be it through access to existing agencies or new, emerging agencies that better align with their missions and character. (https://bit.ly/44g2Bxq)
As a new accreditation provider, NAAE is carefully reviewing the arguments and principles in play. Recognition by the Department is NAAE’s primary mission. However, preserving institutions’ opportunity to revisit and refine “voluntary and peer” affiliation is also a threshold issue. Accreditation that is neither peer-based or voluntary is antithetical to the proven validity of American accreditation, and departs dramatically from the enduring standards that undergird quality assurance.