Trump's Executive Order Threatens College Accreditation and Education

Trump Executive Order Challenges Accreditation in Higher Education

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump has issued an executive order that has stirred significant debate regarding its impact on the accreditation of higher education institutions. This move is seen by many as an effort to centralize control over educational content and administration under the Trump administration.

Traditionally, accreditation ensures that colleges and universities maintain high standards of education. However, the new executive order threatens to dismantle this established system, potentially granting more influence to political figures over academic policies.

The current accreditation framework emerged following the 1944 GI Bill to combat diploma mills, and it was further solidified by the 1958 National Defense Education Act. This framework has been instrumental in determining which institutions qualify for federal funding, a system upheld by the Higher Education Act. Accreditation remains crucial in promoting educational improvements across institutions.

Accrediting bodies have historically acted as safeguards against fraudulent entities, such as Trump University, protecting both students and governmental resources from financial exploitation. Critics argue that Trump's executive order increases susceptibility to such fraud.

Additionally, accrediting agencies contribute to ensuring that educational institutions are inclusive and uphold high standards. The current executive order, however, is accused of using antidiscrimination and civil rights laws to hinder these agencies from enforcing accessibility and inclusivity requirements.

By threatening to decertify existing accrediting bodies and easing the creation of new ones, the order could compel these agencies to conform to political pressures or face replacement by less reputable organizations. This could undermine the objectivity and impartiality that accrediting bodies are meant to provide.

The Trump administration asserts that the order will enhance "academic freedom, intellectual inquiry, and student learning." However, critics claim that politically driven accreditation efforts could lead to campus closures, limiting opportunities for students.

State-level control over accreditation might result in inconsistent regulations, causing confusion and inefficiencies. This could create an environment where dishonest players exploit the system, harming students and their families.

AAUP President Todd Wolfson remarked, “Trump’s goal is to manipulate accreditors in order to force colleges and universities to do his bidding and punish them when they resist. He is weaponizing the accreditation process to gain the leverage he seeks. This order is yet another example of the Trump administration’s attempts to control American higher education. The stated goal of increasing ‘intellectual diversity’ is code for a partisan agenda that will muzzle faculty who do not espouse Trump’s ideological agenda. The order will upend protections for students and degrade their experience on campus.”

AFT President Randi Weingarten added, “Accreditation should be based on the quality of a college or university’s academic standards and support for students, not on whether a politician agrees with a school or professor’s ideology. That’s part of what made U.S. universities the envy of the world.

“President Trump’s new executive order appears to violate this. He appears to be saying that he alone can determine what our colleges can teach and what students can learn. This is a fundamental attack on free expression and free enterprise. It is a war on knowledge, and we will fight it.”

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The AFT represents 1.8 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state, and local government employees; nurses and healthcare workers; and early childhood educators.

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