The call for revisions to the process of accrediting institutions of higher learning is beginning to echo through the nation’s capital. The latest word on the subject comes from the Heritage Foundation, which recently published a short paper urging steps that, if taken, would smash the accreditation cabal run out of the United States Department of Education.
The Heritage paper — written by a team made up of Lindsey Burke, Ph.D., head of the Center for Education Policy at Heritage, Adam Kissel, a Visiting Fellow at the Center, and two scholars from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, Armand Alacbay and Kyle Beltramini – reiterates many of the observations we have made in our recent essays on the subject. They too believe the process by which institutions of higher education are accredited, and the benefits that ensue from that status, have been corrupted by the education octopus.
To briefly restate the case, colleges in the U.S. are “accredited” by agencies designated by the U.S. Department of Education. This was originally a voluntary process, conceived to ensure sure students (and their parents) were getting their money’s worth. Once the government became involved, as it became after World War II as taxpayer dollars began to flow to colleges and universities through the G.I. Bill, the need for third-party validation of a school’s worth increased.
In recent years, as we have written, schools find themselves caught in a vice. They are being squeezed down the path of “diversity, equity, and inclusiveness” rather than educational excellence.
Accreditation’s goals today are racial diversity and ideological conformity. Schools that do not conform find their accreditation threatened. The heart of the Heritage critique is that accreditation is now “a costly and intrusive process for institutions,” the paper says, “doing little to ensure that institutions produce the outcomes they purport to achieve. At the same time, accreditation often mandates ‘woke’ policies and practices within universities, even among those institutions that may object on the grounds that they stifle the free exchange of ideas that is foundational to their educational mission.”
Sensibly, Heritage recommends:
- breaking the monopoly enjoyed by regional accreditors.
- preventing accreditors from using their gatekeeping power to impose inappropriate regulations on institutions.
- creating an alternate path to student loan eligibility.
This last recommendation stems from a growing recognition that competence does not automatically result from time spent in a classroom and that funders and admissions officers at all levels need to look beyond seat time in assessing candidates. On the liberal side, this recognition often leads to the elimination of standardized tests in favor of “lived experience.” On the conservative side, it cuts the other way, substituting such tests as the Graduate Record Exam or the Law School Aptitude Test for a paper credential from a multiversity.
In both cases, a vital component of admissions would be a careful evaluation of students on a case-by-case basis, something that was common in the era before accreditation.
Heritage proposes other recommendations for federal action and a similar list for the states. What remains is for lawmakers to step up to the forest of brambles and thorns surrounding higher education and wield the axe.
Let us hope that the analysis Heritage provides will serve as a spur to immediate and vigorous action. Daily reports on the condition of education in the nation make it clear that there is no time for delay.
Peter Roff, a writer, commentator, and former columnist for U.S. News & World Report is affiliated with several Washington, D.C. public policy groups. Gordon Jones co-founded Utah’s Mount Liberty College, where he teaches the Development of Civilization.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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