Correction appended
Colleges and the agencies that accredit them are re-evaluating how they publicly disclose their educational achievements over fears of stricter federal regulations on colleges' academic standards.
College and accrediting representatives at the Council of Higher Education Accrediting's annual meeting last week in D.C. drafted a series of general guidelines to help colleges improve the public visibility of their academic standards. The guidelines encourage institutions to make clear descriptions of their educational goals and to issue frequent reports on the progress made towards these objectives, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported.
Accrediting agencies examine and validate higher education institutions based on standards they define. The Middle States Commission on Higher Education, an agency accrediting degree-granting colleges and universities in the Mid-Atlantic region, accredits AU.
Accrediting standards differ among individual organizations, but the federal government may be pushing for uniform standards nationwide, according to Karen Froslid Jones, director of AU's Office of Institutional Research and Assessment. Institutional Research and Assessment maintains the university's statistics and assesses the effectiveness of AU through various studies.
Federal regulations would affect both public and private colleges. However, AU would not be subject to strict guidelines or sanctions due to continued success on self-studies conducted every 10 years and periodic reviews conducted every five years, according to Jones.
"The chances of any changes affecting us are slim," she said.
These self-studies conducted by the university result in a report reviewed by a team of university officials from other middle state institutions. The commission then accredits the university based on the report and the recommendation of the visiting team.
The last self-study began in 2002, was conducted through 2003 and was reviewed by the visiting team in 2004, according to Jones.
AU, like most colleges, has for years publicly released their accrediting studies. Making these studies public allows colleges and universities to address weaknesses as opposed to using the results for positive self-promotion. The standards set by accrediting agencies are strict, Jones said.
"It's wrong to assume that these standards aren't rigorous or effective," she said.
The Bush administration threatened last year to impose new rules for measuring academic standards. The Commission on the Future of Higher Education appointed by Secretary of Education Margaret Spelling proposed specific measures in September 2006 that included standardized tests required for students to remain eligible for federal financial aid, according to The Chronicle. A group of senators successfully urged Spelling to suspend her efforts to draft regulations on accreditation, The Chronicle reported.
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., addressed the issue last week at the Council of Higher Education Accreditation's meeting. Alexander warned college and accrediting organization representatives that Congress would continue to push for accountability if colleges did not prove they were meeting certain requirements.
Gaon Lee, a junior in the School of Communication and the School of Public Affairs, said imposing similar standards would destroy the unique qualities of each institution.
"Each school has its [academic] specialties, and if they try to make all universities equal in standards, then these specialties become irrelevant," Lee said.
However, Lina Hasib, a freshman in the School of International Service, said the federal government also has the right to monitor the funds it provides to colleges.
"If the government is giving aid, then they have the right to stick their hands in," Hasib said. "If the government isn't giving much money to a college, then they should let them be independent."
Correction: The correct name of the organization that accredits schools is the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
