Dive Brief:
- Some educators are wondering whether regional accreditation bodies can keep pace with trends such as competency-based learning and new educational technology.
- Last year, Southern New Hampshire University reached a milestone by becoming the first school to be accredited to disburse federal financial aid based on learning outcomes rather than credit hours.
- Since then, there has not been a tidal wave of schools following in its footsteps, and the head of SNHU says he thinks more pathways need to be opened up for, say, individual MOOCs to receive accreditation and for schools to experiment with various learning methods.
Dive Insight:
The ideas floated by Paul LeBlanc, head of SNHU, are similar to some on a wishlist for competency-based education experiments put forward by a coalition of schools last month. In another recent rumbling, one California lawmaker would like to see community colleges be able to choose their own accrediting body.