President Trump Issues Executive Orders on Accreditation and Other Higher Ed Issues

On Wednesday, President Trump issued seven Executive Orders (EOs) pertaining to education and workforce issues. The Executive Orders are: Transparency Regarding Foreign Influence at American Universities, Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education, White House Initiative to Promote Excellence and Innovation at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Preparing Americans for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future, Reinstating Common Sense School Discipline Policies, Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy, and Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth. The EO on accreditation states Secretary of Education Linda McMahon shall, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, hold accreditors accountable by suspending or terminating an their federal recognition for poor performance or if they violate federal civil rights law. The EO also states that the Secretary should resume recognizing new accreditors to increase competition and accountability.

Statements from Education Secretary Linda McMahon are here and from House Education and Workforce Committee Chair Tim Walberg (R-MI) are here. The Executive Order on accreditation is here and a White House fact sheet is here. All Executive Orders may be accessed here. Coverage from Inside Higher Ed is here and here.