Key Takeaways:
- The Western Association of Schools and Colleges has proposed to eliminate all mentions of DEI in its standards.
- PEN America accused WASC of preemptively bowing to political pressure from the incoming Trump administration.
- Beginning in 2025, the Council for Higher Education Accreditation will not recognize WASC as an accrediting organization.
WASC Proposes Big Changes To Accrediting Standards
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), one of the seven regional bodies tasked with accrediting U.S. colleges, has proposed to delete all mentions of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) from its standards. The move prompted concerns from free speech advocates and other higher education organizations.
WASC proposed the changes in late November, three weeks after the reelection of Donald Trump, who has promised to punish accreditors and to remove “all Marxist diversity, equity, and inclusion bureaucrats.” The proposal kicked off a two-week public review period.
Free Speech Advocates Raise Concerns
In response to the proposed changes, PEN America’s Freedom to Learn Program Director Jeremy C. Young issued a formal comment, arguing that the timing “cannot help but create the perception that WASC is bowing to political pressure and abandoning its nonpartisan mission to uphold the quality and autonomy of higher education institutions.”
PEN America does not have a position on the merits of including DEI language in college accreditation standards, but it objects to WASC’s presumed “precompliance” with the political ideologies of the incoming presidential administration.
Young says that timing is everything here. He stresses that accrediting organizations should be free to determine their own standards, “but the moment when they are under direct threats from the government, that is not the moment to capitulate in advance.”
According to Young, there is no evidence that this strategy will minimize political pressures on higher education in the future. In fact, such preemptive acquiescence can embolden politicians to double down on their policy goals. It may also be unnecessary since incoming administrations often falter in their efforts to implement intended policies.
WASC Breaks From Professional Organization
The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), which recognizes and advocates for member accrediting institutions, did not comment directly on WASC’s decision. They did however note that after 2024, CHEA will not recognize WASC as an accrediting organization. A CHEA spokesperson said that WASC had previously notified CHEA that it would not seek accreditation recognition.
WASC’s departure, which has not been previously announced, will make WASC the only regional accreditor not affiliated with the professional organization.
“The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) does not prescribe DEI actions for institutions,” says CHEA President Cynthia Jackson Hammond. “However, we do require a DEI standard for the internal accrediting organization’s operations. CHEA is committed to DEI constructs because those constructs give support to inclusion, a sense of belonging and respect for the diversity of experiences.”
No other regional accrediting bodies have indicated that they will make changes to their standards or guiding principles in the near future.
Of the accreditors that were asked for comment for this story, only the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) spoke on the record.
MSCHE President Dr. Heather F. Perfetti says the organization has no plans to revisit their standards, which were overwhelmingly endorsed by their member institutions in 2023.
“Our Commission had a good working relationship with the Trump administration during his first term, and we hope to do so again,” she says.
Challenges Ahead for Higher Education
The federal government has no formal authority over accrediting bodies, but they are indirectly bound to one another. In order for students to be eligible for federal student aid, including Department of Education loans, colleges need to be accredited by a nationally recognized agency. If the Trump Administration wants to punish accreditors for their standards, it could change which organizations it recognizes or establish new ones that conform to their ideological goals.
This could put accreditors and colleges in potentially challenging positions, torn between their commitment to academic independence and their survival.
According to Young, higher education institutions should be discerning about when and how to hold the line in the face of political pressure. He says that there are plenty of areas for constructive collaboration on topics that the federal government has a legitimate interest in — things like student safety, workforce regulation, etc. Working with the incoming administration on this common ground could foster trust.
“You don’t have to fight every battle,” Young says, but he believes that ideas and intellectual freedom should be off limits. “These are the battles that are worth fighting.”
WASC did not reply to several requests for comment for this story.