Accredited colleges supposedly offer good (or at least acceptable), quality education, and they are therefore eligible to receive federal student-aid money. Congress made that decision back in 1952. At that time, accreditation probably was a reasonable proxy for educational quality, but is it still?
In today’s Martin Center article, Richard Vedder argues that it is not. He writes:
I have a radical view of accreditation. Rather than a vital protector of the public, accrediting agencies are cartels—legalized monopolies—trying to maximize the influence or incomes of accredited colleges with little regard for consumers, taxpayers (who ultimately fund much of higher education), or the broader public interest.
This might sound like a radical view, but I think it’s entirely accurate.
Vedder provides a list of the problems that plague our accreditation system, not least of which is that accrediting agencies have become agents of the “progressive” movement to make colleges conform to DEI ideology.
Here’s his conclusion:
Accrediting agencies have so much power over colleges because they’ve been given the “gatekeeping” power over federal student aid. Supposedly they ensure quality, but in fact they don’t. Let’s de-accredit the accreditors.