[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4124]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACCREDITING AGENCY RESPONSIBILITY 
                              ACT OF 2003

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                          HON. THOMAS E. PETRI

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 13, 2003

  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, today, I am introducing legislation, the 
Higher Education Accrediting Agency Responsibility Act of 2003, that 
will remove the requirement that institutions of higher education be 
accredited in order to be eligible for federal funds. The system of 
accreditation of colleges and universities that has developed in the 
United States does not serve its avowed purpose of ensuring that 
institutions of higher education have good academic programs and 
standards, and it fails to provide hardly any benefit at all to our 
higher education system. Additionally, more effective and less costly 
mechanisms are already in place to protect students. For example, no 
institution can receive federal funds until the Department of Education 
certifies its financial and administrative capacity, and institutions 
also must meet various state licensing and oversight requirements 
related to quality.
  Accreditation these days has little to do with academic rigor or 
educational outcomes; rather, it serves only to show that a school has 
the right set of inputs, and virtually every college and university in 
the nation is able to comply with these standards. Because federal law 
makes eligibility to receive federal student loan funds conditional 
upon retaining accredited status from an accrediting association 
recognized by the Department of Education, schools have a rather large 
incentive to maintain their accreditation status. This places an 
enormous amount of influence in the hands of the accrediting agencies, 
which oftentimes force schools to reallocate resources or even adopt 
policies at odds with a school's individual mission in order to comply 
with accreditation requirements and recommendations.
  As we continue to pursue policies of accountability for our education 
institutions and strive to do our part in making higher education 
affordable for more Americans, we must examine ways that the 
accreditation process can be changed to play a more useful role--one 
that provides meaningful information about a school to students and 
parents. I believe the Higher Education Accrediting Agency 
Responsibility Act of 2003 is the necessary first step to achieve this 
goal.

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