Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Government Accountability Office has released its report on higher education accreditation, recommending that the U.S. Department of Education strengthen its oversight of accreditors and of schools.
- For sanctions issued in 2012, accreditors were more likely to cite financial causes than academic causes. In general, accreditors were more likely to sanction institutions with weaker financial conditions than those with strong finances.
- For the full period of the GAO study, ending in March 2014, schools with weaker student outcomes were no more likely to face accrediting sanctions that schools with strong finances.
Dive Insight:
Besides its findings, the GAO report offers a nice primer on the world of accreditation. Over the four-and-a-half-year period examined by the GAO, accreditors recognized by the Department of Education sanctioned 8% of schools for not meeting accrediting standards and terminated accreditation for 1% of schools. While academic quality is a key responsibility of accreditors, there are few indicators that can be quantified. According to the report, the Department of Education generally agrees with the GAO findings and will address them.