Starting next week, the Accreditation, Innovation, and Modernization (AIM) committee will consider a 151-page proposed amendment to the current regulations governing college accreditors—those higher education watchdogs that rarely bite. The draft language can and will change as the committee considers it, but it’s likely that the Education Department will move forward with the core of the proposed rule.
The proposal represents a massive step forward for what has been, frankly, a broken form of college oversight. Summarizing all 151 pages here would use up too much ink. Instead, I’ll focus on four major provisions that stood out as particularly impactful:
- Creating a smoother pathway for aspiring accreditors to gain recognition from the Education Department;
- Discouraging accreditors from ratcheting up degree or credential requirements for licensed professions;
- Requiring accreditors to look more keenly at student achievement outcomes at the colleges they oversee; and
- Improving transferability of credit between accredited colleges.
Let’s dive into each of the four provisions in turn.