Book Description

This hearing is the fourth in the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions' series examining issues in postsecondary education in anticipation of reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Accreditation's role is to help ensure an acceptable level of quality across a wide spectrum of American higher education. Under the Higher Education Act, accreditation is required for institutions to access Federal financial aid. Students are eligible for Federal student aid only if they attend an institution that is accredited by an accrediting organization recognized by the Department of Education. Consequently, accrediting agencies are considered the gatekeepers of Federal financial aid, and are tasked with helping institutions continuously improve based on their missions, while also overseeing their quality. Therefore as the Committee looks to reauthorize the Higher Education Act, they need to examine whether the current accreditation system sufficiently guarantees the quality of education that students receive at postsecondary institutions while also facing the challenge of improving the system to ensure it can adapt to a rapidly changing 2lst century higher education system. Following an opening statement by Honorable Tom Harkin (Chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) and historical summary of the evolution and challenges facing accreditation in America by Honorable Lamar Alexander (U.S. Senator from the State of Tennessee), the following senators provide statements: (1) Honorable Al Franken, a U.S. Senator from the State of Minnesota; (2) Honorable Christopher Murphy, a U.S. Senator from the State of Connecticut; and (3) Honorable Elizabeth Warren, a U.S. Senator from the State of Massachusetts. Prepared witness statements are offered by: (1) Arthur Levine, President, Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, Princeton, New Jersey; (2) Ralph Wolff, J.D., Former President, Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Alameda, California; (3) Daniel J. Phelan, President, Jackson College, Jackson, Mississippi; and (4) Laura Rasar King, MPH, MCHES, Executive Director, Council on Education for Public Health, Silver Spring, Maryland. Additional material includes talking points from Senator Alexander.