Unofficial Copy of the Final Rule On Accreditation & FAQ Released As Department Under Secretary and Assistant Secretary Share Comments On Stakeholders Zoom Call This Afternoon
Overview
As shared by CSPEN earlier today, the U.S. Department of Education just completed an hour long briefing entitled “Stakeholder Briefing on Trump Administration Accreditation Reforms.”
The briefing included opening remarks from Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent and Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education David Barker, who shared an overview of the outcome of the most recent Federal Negotiated Rulemaking developed in response to the Executive Order from President Trump seeking major reforms in the entire accreditation process.
Under Secretary Kent spoke to four specific objectives achieved through the development of the consensus regulations developed by the Accreditation, Innovation, and Modernization Committee, informed and modified by the over 7.000 public comments in response to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and review by the Administration which led to the Final Rule set to be published in the Federal Register tomorrow.
Assistant Secretary Barker followed with what was essentially a deeper dive on several portions of the Final Rule which he wanted to highlight as a former institutional administrator.
During the Q&A both previous presenters answered question and Deputy Assistant Secretary Jeff Andrade was also asked to share comments and respond to key details of portions of the newly released regulations.
The Final Rule and FAQ
Accreditation, Innovation, and Modernization: Recognition of Accrediting Agencies; Institutional Eligibility Under the Higher Education Act, as Amended; Student Assistance General Provisions (us.list-manage.com/6whX3JUdG4u?e=05bce952ad&c2id=828e2f13ae2569477ba2b7da4ef30812)
Fact Sheet: Trump Administration Finalizes New Rule Delivering Historic Reforms to American Higher Education Accreditation (us.list-manage.com/10S3e99OaEq?e=05bce952ad&c2id=828e2f13ae2569477ba2b7da4ef30812)
What’s Next
CSPEN, like everyone else in the higher education community and all interested parties will begin our systematic review of the 458-page Final Rule – providing our initial summary by next Monday (as we will be presenting at, and sharing time with the Arizona school community at tomorrow’ Arizona Postsecondary School Association Conference), adding more details through upcoming webinars, and more!
It is important to note that these regulations will go into effect by July 1, 2027 – with the ability for early implementation. Many of the questions asked on the briefing focused on the ability for all facets of the higher education community to assimilate and implement these sweeping changes in the next nine months. LOTS of work to d moving forward and CSPEN will be here to assist in those challenges and opportunities.
