ED Eyes Rewrite of Accreditation Rules

Inside Higher Ed

Jessica Blake

January 27, 2026

ED officials have said for months that they want to tackle the regulations governing accreditors. A Monday announcement offers more specifics on their agenda.

The Department of Education is taking its next major step toward overhauling the college accreditation system, inviting higher ed policy experts to suggest nominees for an upcoming negotiating committee. But while the Monday announcement sheds more light on the Trump administration’s priorities, it provides no concrete plan on how they intend to make those goals a reality.

President Trump has long declared accreditation reform his “secret weapon,” and the department had already signaled its desire for change.

Now, the department turns its attention to rewriting the rules that govern accreditors—a process that will involve convening an advisory committee to provide input on the changes. That committee will discuss up to 10 topics outlined in the Federal Register notice, though much of the attention is expected to focus on making it easier for new accreditors to join the market, increasing the agencies’ focus on data-driven student performance benchmarks, and scrubbing any existing diversity, equity and inclusion standards.