College Accreditation Shake-Up: Bill Aims to Restrict Diversity Data in Reviews, Mandate New 'Free Inquiry' Standards

The "Fairness in Higher Education Accreditation Act" is on the legislative table, and it's looking to make some pretty significant tweaks to how colleges and universities get their official stamp of approval – a critical process known as accreditation. In plain English, this bill changes the rulebook for the organizations that accredit higher education institutions, particularly around what they can consider regarding free speech on campus and the demographic makeup of students and staff.

The Accreditation Game is Changing: Here's How

First off, why care about accreditation? Well, it’s the system that basically vouches for a college's quality. More importantly for many, it's often the gatekeeper for students to access federal financial aid like Pell Grants and federal student loans. This bill amends Section 496 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, effectively giving these accrediting agencies a new set of instructions. A key change involves "free inquiry." Accreditors will need to ensure public colleges are upholding First Amendment principles. For private colleges (unless they have a religious exemption as defined in subsection (r)(2) of the Act), the standard will be their own stated policies on such freedoms. This could mean the ground rules for speech and expression might look different depending on whether a campus is public or private, and how a private institution chooses to define its policies.

Diversity Data & Campus Policies: What Accreditors Can (and Can't) Look At

This is where the bill introduces some major shifts. It explicitly prohibits accrediting agencies from requiring or even considering the race, color, sex, or national origin of a college's students, faculty, or staff – this includes looking at who's in leadership positions or receiving honors. Going a step further, Section 2 of the bill mandates that accreditors must permit colleges to adopt "any lawful policy" concerning race, color, sex, or national origin, regardless of the institution's mission. Accreditors are also barred from taking these factors into account during the accreditation process. For example, if a university decides to change its admissions criteria or faculty hiring practices in a way that's technically legal but significantly alters its diversity profile, accrediting bodies wouldn't be able to flag this as an issue related to accreditation standards. This could fundamentally alter how colleges approach diversity, equity, and inclusion, as a major external incentive or checkpoint for these considerations would be effectively removed.

New Legal Muscle: When Colleges Can Challenge Accreditors

Finally, the bill empowers institutions of higher education with a new tool. Under Section 3, if a college or university faces negative accreditation actions – or even just feels an accreditor is unfairly scrutinizing them – based on the newly prohibited considerations (like the demographic makeup of their campus, as outlined in the amended section 496(a)(10)), the institution can file a civil lawsuit against the accrediting agency. This provision could shift the power dynamic between educational institutions and their overseers, potentially making accreditors more cautious or giving schools more leverage to push back on decisions they disagree with, specifically concerning these new prohibitions.