Peace in Accreditation Land

Writing in Inside Higher Ed, Doug Lederman summarizes recent happenings in "accreditation land" this way: "In stark contrast to 2007, federal negotiations over accreditation rules end in accord, overcoming dispute over student learning outcomes that might have derailed the proceeding[s]."

"Those issues were on the agenda again as another panel of negotiators completed several months of work on accreditation at an Education Department office building Tuesday, but with a dramatically different result (and dramatically less drama). The college administrators, higher education lobbyists, accreditors, state officials and others around the conference table -- including Education Department staff members -- reached "consensus" on a package of 16 regulatory proposals to carry out changes Congress made in legislation to renew the Higher Education Act last summer. (When such negotiating sessions end with "consensus" among the parties on a package of regulatory changes, a federal agency is bound to propose them as is; when no consensus is reached, the agency can essentially do whatever it wants.)"

Read the full article here:
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/05/20/accredit