Last month, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper signed House Bill 8 (HB 8) into law. In addition to establishing a new computer science requirement for high school graduation and certain age verification requirements to protect children from online pornography, HB 8 controversially requires public colleges and universities to utilize a different accrediting agency every accrediting cycle, which usually runs between five to 10 years. (Exempted from the requirement are professional, graduate, departmental, or certificate programs with specific accreditation requirements, including law, pharmacy, and engineering, among “other similar educational programs” identified by the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina.) Despite the passage of HB 8, Governor Cooper urged the General Assembly to “reevaluate” the accreditation requirements, noting that “the changes to the university and community college accreditation process are onerous and will add an unnecessary burden and increase costs for our public higher education institutions[.]”

As highlighted by Higher Ed Dive, North Carolina is not the first state to pass legislation that seeks to overhaul the accreditation process. In April 2022, Florida established a similar law requiring its public colleges to change accreditors every cycle. (The Florida law also enables public colleges to sue accrediting agencies for “retaliatory action” and establishes a process for evaluating tenured professors.)  Unlike the Florida law, HB 8 includes a stop-gap measure that allows an institution to “remain with its current accrediting agency for an additional accreditation cycle” if the institution “is not granted candidacy status by any [different] regional accrediting agency…at least three years prior to the expiration of its current accreditation[.]” 

The factors driving these states’ legislative actions are not dissimilar. In North Carolina, lawmakers’ focus on the issue reportedly began in early 2023, when the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SASCOC) raised concerns about a new School of Civic Life and Leadership at the University of North Carolina. In Florida, SASCOC questions about the potential effect of political influence on institutional decision-making and possible conflict with SASCOC policies at certain state colleges drew the ire of Florida lawmakers. Ultimately, both laws stem, at least in part, from legislators’ dissatisfaction with the authority and control exerted by accrediting bodies and accreditors’ gatekeeper status for federal financial aid under Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA).

Proponents of the laws seek to curb accreditors’ power over state institutions’ decision-making. Meanwhile, opponents cited by this student newspaper contend that the process of changing accreditors each cycle will be expensive, time-intensive, devalue degrees, and diminish graduate school eligibility based on the reputation of the accrediting body du jour for a particular accrediting cycle. The most significant opponent is the U.S. Department of Education (ED).

In its March 2022 letter to Governor Ron DeSantis, among other concerns raised, ED warned that federal law and ED regulations “prevent institutions from changing accreditors in search of lower standards, which may be implicated here.” ED also explained that Section 496(h) of the HEA (20 U.S.C. § 1099b(h)), and its implementing regulation at 34 C.F.R. § 600.11(a), “prohibit the Secretary from recognizing the accreditation of an otherwise-eligible institution of higher education for purposes of participation in HEA programs, when that institution is in the process of changing accrediting agencies, unless the institution satisfies certain conditions and receives approval from the Secretary.” In June 2023, after ED released guidance to accrediting agencies that suggested the Florida law “potentially undermines the voluntary nature of the relationship and the independent roles of the various actors in the triad,” referring to “States, accrediting agencies, and [ED],” in conflict with the HEA, Florida sued the Department asking the court to stop ED from enforcing its accreditation regulations against Florida institutions. This lawsuit is ongoing.

The bottom line: Public institutions and higher education administrators forced to thread this needle – comply with new state laws that overhaul the already complex, costly, and time-consuming accreditation process while adhering to federal regulation that holds critical Title IV funding in the balance – are caught in the cross-hairs. The costs remain to be seen as institutions work to discern the budgetary and other impacts of the new laws. Meanwhile, private institutions are presently excluded from these requirements. Ultimately, absent definitive action by ED or through litigation (in Florida or elsewhere) that militates otherwise, colleges and universities should be prepared for other states to follow suit.

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 [EJA1]https://www.highereddive.com/news/north-carolina-law-forces-colleges-to-change-accreditors-every-cycle/696197/

 [EJA2]https://www.dailytarheel.com/page/about