U.S. Department of Education Announces Negotiated Rulemaking to Reform and Strengthen America’s Higher Education Accreditation System

The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) today announced its intent to establish the Accreditation, Innovation, and Modernization (AIM) negotiated rulemaking committee to develop proposed regulations that would, among other goals, simplify the Secretary's recognition of emerging and existing accreditors; examine the extent to which accreditation contributes to rising higher education costs and credential inflation; safeguard against undue influence from related private trade associations; eliminate standards or policies that discriminate on the basis of immutable characteristics; and refocus quality assurance and improvement on data-driven student outcomes.

The AIM committee will advance President Trump's vision to reform and strengthen the Nation's higher education accreditation system, as outlined in Executive Order 14279, Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education.

Since taking office one year ago, the Trump Administration has worked to reform the broken accreditation system by ending the moratorium on new accreditors put in place by the Biden Administration and making it easier for colleges and universities to change accreditors to those which better align with their missions and values. The Trump Administration has also announced its intent to rewrite the Accreditation Handbook. The Department's rulemaking to revise federal regulations governing accreditation will build on and expand this important work.

"Accreditation functions as the central nervous system of higher education, and the system cannot be made healthy without addressing its deepest flaws," said Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent. "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 the following topics:

• Deregulation: The Department will address regulations that impede the entry of new accreditors, reduce burdensome and duplicative requirements that hinder efficient reviews, and require accrediting agencies to enforce their standards in ways that minimize unnecessary costs and administrative burden on institutions.
• Student Outcomes: The Department intends to amend its regulations to establish expectations that accrediting agencies assess quality using data-driven student outcomes, rather than unlawful DEI-based standards.
• Merit: The Department intends to revise regulations to ensure that accreditors' standards comply with all federal civil rights laws and prohibit standards or policies that require or facilitate discrimination on the basis of immutable characteristics, such as race-based scholarships.
• Integrity: The Department will ensure that accrediting agencies and institutions do not mislead students or the public with misrepresentative labels, such as: "regional accreditor;" strengthen requirements to maintain greater separation between accrediting agencies and related trade associations; and improve college affordability by reforming transfer-of-credit policies that force students to unnecessarily repeat coursework and incur additional debt.

The deadline to submit nominations for negotiators is February 27, 2026. The AIM Committee will convene for two five-day sessions in April and May. The Department has not prejudged the outcome of the rulemaking process and will solicit feedback from negotiators and the public prior to publishing a final rule.

Background:

Section 492 of the Higher Education Act requires that the Secretary of Education solicit public involvement in the development of proposed regulations before publishing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking implementing programs authorized under Title IV. After obtaining advice and recommendations from the public and stakeholders, the Secretary conducts Negotiated Rulemaking to develop the proposed regulations.

The Department solicited stakeholder feedback at two public hearings on April 29 and May 1. During the hearing process, the Department received multiple comments to reform the accreditation process.

For more information on the negotiated rulemaking process, see here.

To nominate a negotiator, please email [email protected].

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