President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order to reform college accreditation, in part by targeting efforts to boost intellectual diversity and forbid accreditors from requiring diversity, equity and inclusion as a requirement for approval.
New accreditation organizations are also expected to be created as a result of this order.
The order seeks to “reform our dysfunctional accreditation system so that colleges and universities focus on delivering high-quality academic programs at a reasonable price.”
The order “would make it easier for schools to switch accreditors and for new accreditors to gain federal approval,” The Wall Street Journal reported.
“The order aims to use the accrediting system to combat what Trump views as discriminatory practices and ‘ideological overreach’ on college campuses,” the Journal reported. “The order intends to put a greater focus on intellectual diversity among faculty and student success.”
The executive order states the secretary of education may deny, suspend or terminate “accreditors who fail to meet the applicable recognition criteria or otherwise violate Federal law, including by requiring institutions seeking accreditation to engage in unlawful discrimination in accreditation-related activity under the guise of ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ initiatives.”
The American Bar Association must also follow this in its accreditation standards under the order. The association already dropped its diversity mandate earlier this year.
U.S. Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Wednesday issued a statement praising the order.
“President Trump’s Executive Order will bring long-overdue change by accelerating the recognition of new accreditors and refocusing existing accreditors on helping member institutions improve the student outcomes families care most about,” she stated.
“Instead of pushing schools to adopt a divisive DEI ideology, accreditors should be focused on helping schools improve graduation rates and graduates’ performance in the labor market,” she said.
“The Department of Education will create a competitive marketplace of higher education accreditors, which will give colleges and universities incentives and support to focus on lowering college costs, fostering innovation, and delivering a high-quality postsecondary education,” McMahon added.
Some conservative scholars have argued Congress needs to pass a law that explicitly outlaws DEI accreditation standards across higher education.
MORE: Congress urged to ban DEI accreditation standards as ABA drops diversity mandate
IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: A screenshot of the accreditation executive order / Whitehouse.gov
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