Reforming Accreditation To Strengthen Higher Education

This Executive Order directs the Department of Education and the Justice Department to reform how U.S. higher-education accreditors are overseen and recognized. It responds to concerns that some accreditors have prioritized diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) requirements or other governance matters over student outcomes, allowed low-value programs to access federal student aid, or imposed standards that conflict with state law. The order instructs agency officials to hold accreditors accountable for unlawful discrimination, promote outcome-focused accreditation, open the door to new accreditors and alternative quality-assurance models, and streamline recognition and review processes. If implemented, the order could change what colleges and professional schools must demonstrate to retain accreditation (and thus access to federal student aid), encourage new or alternative accrediting pathways, and increase federal scrutiny of accreditation standards—especially any that reference race, ethnicity, or sex. It may trigger reviews or enforcement actions against specific accreditors for alleged unlawful DEI-related standards, and could shift accreditation emphasis toward measurable student outcomes, cost/value, and “intellectual diversity.”