Dive Brief:
- U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander asked at a hearing whether college accreditors are losing their focus on quality.
- Alexander said the government has been adding requirements for accreditors that may do nothing to ensure quality education.
- Alexander noted that federal accreditors now must consider 93 criteria, compared with a single page of requirements in 1952.
Dive Insight:
Alexander traced the history of accreditation, the expansion of which took place against a backdrop of more and more Americans completing college. One key to the expansion of accreditation and the federal government's involvement in it came in 1965, when it became required that any student getting federal financial aid go to an accredited university.