GAO Report Raises Questions about College Accreditation Process, Miller Says
WASHINGTON—College and university accreditation aims to ensure that schools are providing their students with a quality education, but a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) casts doubt about whether accreditors are adequately holding schools accountable for student success. GAO’s analysis raises important questions about the current federal framework for accreditation, including whether accrediting agencies are effectively assessing academic quality and how the Department of Education (the Department) can better oversee accreditors.
“With federal student loan debt now topping $1.3 trillion, students and taxpayers need to know that their time and money are being invested wisely,” said Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, who requested the GAO report. “Congress has tasked accreditors with evaluating the academic strength of colleges and universities, and the American people expect accreditors to hold colleges accountable for student success. This report raises serious questions about whether we are watching the watchdogs closely enough.”
The Department is specifically prohibited from evaluating academic quality at colleges and relies on accreditors, independent groups recognized by the Department, to be the reliable authorities charged with evaluating schools’ educational quality. To receive federal student aid funds, institutions of higher education must be certified by accreditors as meeting both academic and financial standards. Accrediting agencies can sanction schools for not complying with these standards, thus jeopardizing the school’s eligibility for federal funding.
GAO found that accrediting agencies are no more likely to sanction schools with poorer student achievement—defined by outcomes such as graduation rates and student loan default rates—than they are schools with stronger student achievement. This means that accreditors are not necessarily sanctioning colleges based on the student outcomes that prior research and experts on postsecondary education agree are strong indicators of educational quality.
“Accreditation should give students and parents some reassurance about student success, but GAO’s findings leave me wondering if accreditors are following their established criteria—or if they’re even looking at the right things," said Miller. "We must make sure our students continue to have access to world-class educational opportunities and that accreditation remains a reliable barometer of the value of students’ degrees."
For the first time, the GAO examined available data on accreditor sanctions and calculated how a school’s performance on academic and financial benchmarks affected the likelihood that it would be sanctioned by its accreditor. The report also surveyed how the Department uses information about sanctions to oversee the accreditation process.
Furthermore, GAO questioned whether accreditors are thoroughly and consistently applying current standards in the evaluation process, as well as the standards’ ability to accurately determine academic quality. As such, GAO recommends that the Department better assess the efficacy of accreditor standards and improve the use of available accreditor sanction information to oversee schools and accreditors.
This report raises valuable questions that are likely to be considered by stakeholders and the next Congress as members work to reauthorize the Higher Education Act, including: whether accreditors are using their established standards of quality to sanction underperforming colleges; whether these are the right standards to evaluate academic strength; and if the Department needs greater authority to oversee accreditors.
Next Article