United States: President Trump Signs Executive Order Targeting University Accreditors; Releases Accompanying Fact Sheet

The White House has published President Trump’s executive order that revises the accreditation process for institutions of higher education. The White House has also published a fact sheet to supplement the EO.

The “Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education” EO directs the Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to review and monitor higher education accreditation services and hold accreditors accountable, where deemed appropriate. Of note, the EO directs the Secretary of Education to do the following, among other directives:

• [H]old accountable, including through denial, monitoring, suspension, or termination of accreditation recognition, accreditors who fail to meet the applicable recognition criteria or otherwise violate Federal law
• Ensure that accreditation requires that institutions support and appropriately prioritize intellectual diversity amongst faculty in order to advance academic freedom, intellectual inquiry, and student learning
• Ensure that accreditors are prohibited from engaging in practices that result in credential inflation.

To advance these objectives, the Secretary of Education is directed to undertake a number of actions, including:

• Resume recognizing new accreditors to increase competition and accountability
• Launch an experimental site to accelerate innovation and improve accountability by establishing new flexible and streamlined quality assurance pathways
• Streamline the process for higher education institutions to change accreditors to ensure institutions are not forced to comply with standards that are antithetical to institutional values and mission

The EO also directs the Secretary of Education and Attorney General Pamela Bondi to investigate and take action to terminate unlawful discrimination by American higher education institutions, including law schools and medical schools.

The direct impact of the EO on employment-based immigration programs is not yet clear, but because accreditation is a key factor for H-1B and other programs, Fragomen will be closely following the impact of the EO.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.