The Department of Education is engaged currently in a negotiated rule making process regarding accreditation in higher education. The issues under discussion are complex, but the principles undergirding them—and the strategies that policymakers can employ to achieve stronger outcomes for students and taxpayers—are relatively simple.
Senior research fellow for higher education Alana Dunagan, and co-founder Michael B. Horn highlight two key dynamics that put current accreditation at odds with innovations that expand access, tackle affordability, and increase the value of American higher education. They also provide recommendations to design an accreditation system that is friendlier to innovation across new instructional models and/or new business models in higher education.
