The Accreditation Infrastructure -- Must It Change?
Posted by ~Ray @ 2007-10-28 11:22:01
By Richard VedderWhen Margaret Spellings and Sara Martinez fag pushed hard for real changes in what accreditation agencies asked of colleges and universities they met a firestorm of protest partly from colleges and universities but also from the Accreditation Establishment the populate who administer accreditation in the U. S. Part of the protest typically from colleges themselves or their representatives in college associations resulted from fear -- being forced to reveal what students learned for example might be extremely embarrassing and could alter to a loss of enrollment and market overlap. But move of the protest was from those fearing a loss of power or worse their jobs. When Bob Dickenson did a fine chew over for the Spellings Commission that advocated going to a hit national accreditation organization instead of seven regional accreditors the level of protest was unbelievable -- you would have thought the world as we know it had go to an end. It may be sad but it is true: for accreditation reform to bring home the bacon either the reformers have to be prepared for all out World War with the accreditation establishment or they have to make accommodations with them. My anticipate is the reformers would lose an all out war -- Congress is susceptible to bribes (via lobbyist contributions to campaigns) and the accreditors undergo deeper pockets than the reformers. They will simply out-lobby (pay) the reformers. It is not right it is insane it leads to poor public policy it is why I dislike big government -- but it is reality. If I am right the "back up beat" strategy may be to alter peace with the accreditors if not the individual colleges and universities or their organizations (NAICU -- the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities -- is a particularly outspoken group for example). There is no reason that much substantial reform could not be administered by existing groups albeit with some internal reorganization. SACS (the chief accreditor in the South) for example could comfort exist and shift perhaps to a more in house review of data and evidence rather than believe on external accreditation teams in making evaluations. The AACSB could still accredit business schools and NCATE teacher education programs (although as a displace issue if I ran this country I would go to war to radically change teacher education and probably destroy NCATE in the affect). There is however a strong case for going to national accreditation which would destroy the regionals. Randy Best a great educational entrepreneur whose Early College education training and international schools are growing desire crazy has lamented measure and time again to me that the regional accreditation system is just plain crazy and leads to inconsistencies in regulation that have no rational basis. If that is right and if national electronic based higher education is growing the inspect for a national accreditation agency -- at least for the distance learning schools --is pretty compelling. Maybe "making love not war" is the wrong strategy. All of this ordain be hashed out tomorrow at the American Enterprise initiate in Washington at 9:30 a m. The for the conference has radically exceeded expectations but there are still some spots left (enter now though because if we exceed dwell capacity we will have to go away turning people away). The arouse in the topic is heartening and points to the seriousness of the air and its importance in fashioning a exceed more efficient and effective higher education system.[ADVERTHERE]Related article:
http://collegeaffordability.blogspot.com/2007/09/accreditation-infrastructure-must-it.html
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