Dive Brief:
- A consensus is building around the concept of making higher education accreditation more national in nature, Inside Higher Ed reports.
- The Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions has taken a step in that direction by announcing that the seven regional accreditation bodies in the U.S. will start using common terms to describe their actions toward higher ed institutions.
- The council hopes that its plan demonstrates cooperation in addressing criticisms, heading off potential federal regulation. Members of Congress have shown increasing interest in accreditation issues.
Dive Insight:
The fact that agreeing to definitions of some basic terms — like “probation” and “withdrawal of accreditation” — is considered a significant announcement may seem to indicate significant other differences between the regional bodies. But in some cases, the language changes mean that the accreditation bodies will have to change their processes also, according to Elizabeth Sibolski, the chairwoman of the accrediting commission council.