Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal | Higher education accreditors are facing new scrutiny after a U.S. Department of Education office called for the nation’s largest regional oversight group to be stripped of government recognition.
The Education Department’s Office of Inspector General last week recommended the Department “limit, suspend or terminate” approval of the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools after it endorsed a for-profit school with questionable practices in early 2009.
In a May 24 letter, the OIG blasted HLC for approving Hoffman Estates-based Career Education
Corp.’s American Intercontinental University despite expressing serious
concerns about its credit hour structure.
While it’s doubtful the agency, which oversees more than 1,000 schools,
will be shuttered, insiders say the move raises questions about the
overall process of higher education accreditation and heightens the
specter of a regulatory crackdown.
Schools need approval from a government-designated accreditor to
participate in federal student aid programs.
“Accreditation agencies have been quite resilient in the face of
government scrutiny in the past, but the OIG represents a shot across
the bow,” Kevin Kinser, a University at Albany education administration
and policy professor, said via email. “The government is essentially
saying, ‘You’re not keeping your eye on the prize,’” he added
in an interview.
Robert Shireman, deputy under secretary for education, said in an April
28 speech to higher education regulators that he feared accreditors
don’t have the “analytical firepower” they need to fairly assess the
schools they oversee.
Likening the accreditors to credit rating agencies that gave top marks
to underperforming securities in the financial crisis, Shireman said the
school agencies have an “inherent conflict of interest,” as they are
funded by the institutions they are meant to critique.
Fees to join HLC, for example, start at $17,500, according to the
group’s website. Annual dues include a $2,500 base, 50 cents per
full-time-equivalent student and $75 per degree site.
While he said he didn’t have a better alternative, Shireman said
accreditation alone can’t be relied on to protect consumers and
taxpayers.
HLC said in a statement on its website that it “objected strenuously to
the conclusions in the December report and we continue to disagree with
the OIG’s conclusions.”
Karen Solinski, HLC’s vice president for legal and governmental affairs,
said the agency has been working with the Education Department for
several months. “Over the past couple of years, but particularly this
year,” she said, “there does seem to be an interest by this particular
department in a more aggressive tone and interaction with accrediting
agencies.”
A spokesman for Career Education said American Intercontinental supports
the accreditation process and noted HLC’s advisory committee found no
violations in its recent review of the university.
The Department of Education hopes a newly reconstituted oversight body,
which hasn’t met for two years because of a holdup in member
nominations, will help correct any issues at the six regional
accreditors. According to an entry in the Federal Register, a compliance
report from HLC is “proposed to be reviewed” during the group’s
September meeting. Petitions for renewal of recognition from two other
regional accreditors are also on the agenda.
