Societal Leaders or Political Followers? Institutional Accreditation and the Rise of State Regulations

This article traces the evolution of higher education accreditation and the impact of modern partisan critiques that challenge its traditional values. For example, the Trump-led Department of Education (ED) introduced new rules resulting in the end of regional boundaries related to accreditation. Moreover, questions have emerged related to oversight of accreditation agencies. Some states have attempted to break up the "higher-education cartels," by requiring institutions to change institutional accreditors, threatening university policies related to shared governance and academic freedom and exerting political control over hiring processes. In light of this, the ED and accreditors have pushed back by issuing guidance reasserting its oversight of such changes, outlining required procedures, and reinforcing the values of accreditation. Recently, Florida has filed suit against ED challenging the constitutionality of the accreditation regime. Against that backdrop, this paper considers how higher education leaders should respond in light of Douglass' (2021) political determinist hypothesis.