The U.S. Department of Education has announced plans to create the Accreditation, Innovation, and Modernization (AIM) negotiated rulemaking committee. This committee will develop proposed regulations aimed at reforming the higher education accreditation system in the United States.
According to the Department, the AIM committee's goals include simplifying how emerging and existing accreditors are recognized by the Secretary of Education, examining whether accreditation contributes to increasing higher education costs and credential inflation, protecting against undue influence from private trade associations, removing discriminatory standards or policies based on immutable characteristics, and shifting quality assurance toward data-driven student outcomes.
This initiative follows President Trump’s Executive Order 14279, which seeks to reform and strengthen higher education accreditation. Since taking office a year ago, the Trump Administration has ended a moratorium on new accreditors previously set by the Biden Administration and has taken steps to allow colleges more flexibility in changing accreditors. The administration also intends to revise the Accreditation Handbook as part of broader efforts to update federal regulations governing accreditation.
Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent stated: “Accreditation functions as the central nervous system of higher education, and the system cannot be made healthy without addressing its deepest flaws. Rather than focusing on whether member institutions offer high-quality programs that benefit students and the workforce, the current accreditation regime has become a protectionist system that shields existing players, fuels rising costs, drives credential inflation, adds administrative bloat, allows undue influence from related trade associations, and promotes ideologically driven initiatives. We welcome nominations from key stakeholders willing to challenge the status quo to help reform this unhealthy system, restore accountability, and ensure our higher education institutions deliver high-quality postsecondary education.”
The AIM committee will address several specific areas:
- Deregulation: Efforts will focus on removing barriers for new accreditors entering the market and reducing duplicative requirements that increase administrative burdens for institutions.
- Student Outcomes: Regulations may be amended so accrediting agencies assess quality using measurable student outcomes instead of diversity-based standards.
- Merit: Proposed changes would require accreditor standards to comply with all federal civil rights laws and prohibit discrimination based on characteristics such as race.
- Integrity: The Department aims to prevent misleading labels like “regional accreditor,” reinforce separation between accreditors and related trade associations, and improve affordability by reforming transfer-of-credit policies.
Nominations for negotiators must be submitted by February 27, 2026. The AIM Committee is scheduled for two five-day sessions in April and May. The Department emphasized it has not predetermined any outcomes; feedback from both negotiators and members of the public will be considered before final rules are published.
Section 492 of the Higher Education Act requires public involvement in developing proposed regulations before publishing them under Title IV programs. As part of this process, stakeholder feedback was collected during public hearings held on April 29 and May 1.
For additional details about negotiated rulemaking or information about nominating negotiators via email can be found through resources provided by the Department.
