The U.S. Department of Education has announced initial efforts to comply with an Executive Order by former President Trump aimed at reforming accreditation processes in higher education. This move allows educational institutions the freedom to change accreditors more readily and initiates the review of potential new accreditors. Institutions will no longer face lengthy processes when switching their accreditor, as outlined in a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) issued by the Department.
Additionally, the Department has lifted the previous moratorium imposed by the Biden Administration on the acceptance and review of new accreditor applications. One applicant has been informed that its paused petition will now be considered. U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon stated, "We must foster a competitive marketplace both amongst accreditors and colleges and universities in order to lower college costs and refocus postsecondary education on improving academic and workforce outcomes for students and families." She emphasized that the Department will stop obstructing aspiring accreditor innovators and micromanaging institutional accreditor selections.
The Higher Education Act and its regulations mandate institutions to provide the Department with documentation regarding their prior accreditation and justification for changing accreditors. While certain adverse conditions allow the Department to deny accreditor change requests, no directive requires withholding approval.
The Biden-Harris Administration had previously released Dear Colleague Letters in 2022 that established a pre-clearance process for institutions choosing new accreditors. These have now been revoked. Under the new guidance, institutions can change accreditors for various reasons, such as aligning better with a religious mission, changes in academic programs, state law requirements, or rejection of certain standards like discriminatory Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion practices.
The DCL emphasizes that, "the law and regulation describe the requirements regarding what constitutes reasonable cause for changing an accrediting agency. It is not the Department’s prerogative to infer any other meanings from the basic requirements or contrive a multi-step investigation." The new guidance simplifies the process to remove unnecessary barriers to innovation.
The temporary halt on new accreditor applications, which was implemented by the Office of Postsecondary Education on October 29, 2024, has been lifted. The pause was initially due to the large volume of accrediting agencies under review. A prospective new accreditor that had its application paused has now been notified for reassessment.
