Please note that companion DCL ID GEN-22-11, dated July 19, 2022, describes the procedures institutions must follow to change or add an accrediting agency.
Dear Colleague:
Under section 496(h) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, (HEA) (20 U.S.C. 1099b(h)), an institution seeking to change its accrediting agency must submit to FSA all materials relating to the prior accreditation and materials demonstrating reasonable cause for changing the accrediting agency. This requirement helps prevent an erosion of accrediting agency standards and provides critical protections for students and taxpayers by ensuring that institutions do not switch accrediting agencies simply to evade accountability, avoid open inquiries, or seek approval from an agency with less rigorous or easier-to-meet standards.
The Department has implemented this statutory requirement via 34 CFR § 600.11(a), which requires an institution to provide all materials related to its prior accreditation or preaccreditation, to provide materials demonstrating reasonable cause for changing its accrediting agency, and to receive the Department’s approval prior to switching accrediting agencies. In this announcement, the Department is further detailing its expectations and requirements to ensure that institutions are aware of the standards to which they will be held if they seek to change their accrediting agency-of-record with FSA and/or maintain accreditation with multiple institutional agencies. We remind institutions that, in evaluating an institution’s demonstration of reasonable cause for doing so, the Department will consider the institution’s history of compliance, past accrediting agency actions, open inquiries, and the rationale provided, as described further in this guidance.
Reasonable Cause
To carry out its responsibilities under 34 CFR § 600.11, FSA must make a reasonable cause determination.
Under § 600.11(a) and (b), except in the circumstances described in the following paragraph, FSA will not determine an institution’s cause to be reasonable if the institution:
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Has had its accreditation withdrawn, revoked, or otherwise terminated for cause during the preceding 24 months, unless such withdrawal, revocation, or termination has been rescinded by the same accrediting agency.
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Has been subject to a probation or equivalent, show cause order, or suspension order during the preceding 24 months.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, under 34 CFR § 600.11, FSA may determine the institution’s cause for changing its accrediting agency to be reasonable under such circumstances if the existing agency did not provide the institution its due process rights as defined in 34 CFR § 602.25, the agency applied its standards and criteria inconsistently, or if the adverse action or show cause or suspension order was the result of an agency's failure to respect an institution's stated mission, including religious mission. Further, FSA may determine the institution’s cause for seeking multiple accreditations to be reasonable if the institution’s primary interest in seeking multiple accreditations is based on its geographic area, program area focus, or mission.
In all other cases, in making a reasonable cause determination, FSA must review the specific circumstances of the institution, which may include the institution’s past history of compliance with the requirements of its accrediting agency, the Department, or other oversight agencies; the institution’s financial stability; and other information about the institution available to FSA. FSA may consider factors such as the following when evaluating a proposed change in accrediting agencies (or an application to have more than one institutional accrediting agency):
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The institution’s stated reason for the proposed change or multiple accreditations.
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Whether the institution is seeking to change accrediting agencies or multiple accreditations to lessen oversight or rigor, evade inquiries or sanctions, or the risk of inquiries or sanctions by its existing accrediting agency.
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Whether the proposed change of agencies or multiple accreditations would strengthen institutional quality.
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Whether the institution is seeking to change agencies or seeking multiple accreditations because the new agency and its standards are more closely aligned with the institution’s mission than the current accrediting agency.
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Whether the proposed change or addition involves an accrediting agency that has been subject to Department action.
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Whether, if ultimately approved by the Department and the accrediting agency, the institution’s membership in the accrediting agency would be voluntary, as required for recognition of the accrediting agency under 34 CFR § 602.14(a).
The Department sent a letter to federally recognized institutional accrediting agencies further detailing the significance of voluntary membership in accrediting decisions as required under 34 CFR § 602.14(a). That letter is available at the Office of Postsecondary Education’s website.
As part of its reasonable cause determination, FSA may request records from the institution’s current accrediting agency. In all cases, it is incumbent on the institution to provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate the reasonableness of the requested change.
Contact Information
For more information, please contact the Department at CaseTeams@ed.gov.
Sincerely,
Annmarie Weisman
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Planning, and Innovation
Office of Postsecondary Education