Hearing on
H.R. 4283, the College Access & Opportunity Act:  
Does Accreditation Provide Students and Parents Accountability and Quality?

June 22, 2004

Good morning and thank you for joining us for this very important hearing today to hear testimony on accountability in our nation's higher education system. This is a continuation of the series of hearings that we have held over the last few weeks to examine the provisions of H.R. 4283, the College Access and Opportunity Act, a comprehensive bill to reauthorize the Higher Education Act that aims to expand college access for millions of low and middle-income students striving for a higher education.

I want to start by welcoming our witnesses and thanking them for joining us here today.

For decades, our nation has used the peer reviewed accreditation system to ensure the quality of an institution of higher education. In order to be eligible to participate in student aid programs under the Higher Education Act, postsecondary institutions must be accredited by a recognized accrediting agency. To be a recognized accrediting agency, the agency must be designated by the Secretary of Education.

There are three kinds of accreditation: regional, national and specialized. Regional and national accreditation are used to assess overall institutional quality and are required for participation in the student aid programs. Specialized accreditation agencies look at specific programs offered by a postsecondary institution, such as medical or business programs, and are generally not recognized by the Secretary as they do not provide access to federal student aid programs for the institution.

As most of our witnesses on the panel can attest, the accreditation system serves as the central component in the federal government's effort to hold institutions accountable. It is widely credited as an invaluable tool for measuring institutional quality without undue federal control and federal pressure.

At the same time, we also have to recognize that the accreditation system is not perfect. While it may be a "uniquely American institution," it is also one that -- all too often -- perpetuates the status quo on campuses. Even with the additional requirement made in 1998 that accreditors begin to focus on student outcomes, the system and the institutions they accredit could be more effective when it comes to measuring academic quality. This lackluster focus on academic achievement and student learning outcomes has resulted in the fact that more than half of our nation's students do not graduate in four years. Low graduation rates may be compounded by the fact that parents and students lack the necessary information to determine whether a particular college or university is a quality institution or appear to meet the needs of that particular student.

As we enter the 21st Century, it is our duty and obligation to act to drive improvements to the current system.

Recognizing the importance of accreditation, last month Chairman John Boehner and I introduced H.R. 4283, the College Access and Opportunity Act, which strengthens the accreditation system by empowering consumers through "sunshine" and transparency. The bill also maintains the important link between eligibility for federal student aid and accreditation.

First, the bill gives consumers more information about what they're getting for their money. Currently, institutions of higher education are required to report a significant amount of data to the federal government, but the information is not available to students and parents in an easy-to-use and readily available format. The bill will require the Department of Education to use the information already reported by colleges and universities to the federal government to create a "College Consumer Profile" and make this information available to the public in a readable, understandable, consistent and clear format so students and families can make more informed choices in the college marketplace. The bill will also clarify that student academic achievement must be measured against the institution's own desired learning outcomes, not federally established guidelines.

Second, the bill would make accreditation agencies more accountable by making information more public. Under current law, accrediting agencies provide limited information about their activities to the public, and only upon request. The bill will make the accreditation process more transparent by giving students, parents and the general public more direct access to such information, helping to ensure they know what they’re getting for their money.

Finally, among other provisions, the bill would make transfer of credit policies public. With recent data showing more than 50 percent of students attend multiple institutions of higher education, it has become increasingly important for students to have the flexibility to transfer their credits from one school to another. To ease the burden of transfer for students and ensure fairness to the process, the bill will simply require institutions to have a transfer of credit policy, make that policy public and follow that policy. The College Access and Opportunity Act also ensures credits are not unfairly and arbitrarily denied based solely on the accreditor of a college or university where the credits being transferred were earned, so long as the accreditor is recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education.

Since the introduction of H.R. 4283, many of the changes that the Chairman and I would make to the accreditation system in the bill have been criticized by members of the higher education community and have been portrayed as federalizing higher education. These same groups have argued as a result of this bill that the federal government would be responsible for making academic decisions that should remain the purview of those on college campuses. I am sure that you will hear a little bit about that today.

While I certainly respect those in the community who are making such arguments, I wholeheartedly disagree.

I believe that it is absolutely critical that institutions of higher education provide better information to parents and students so they can make informed decisions on what college or university will meet their individual needs. Even though institutions are required to report completion, graduation and placement rates to ensure that students are prepared for entry into the workforce, most of this information is not readily available to the public. By creating a College Consumer Profile, focusing on student learning outcomes and requiring accreditors to make some of their reports public, we will ensure that these consumers are able to accurately measure the academic quality of a postsecondary education. And we do so with no additional reporting requirements.

In addition, I do not believe that Congress should continue to support institutional policies, such as blanket denials of transfer credits that are unfair to students. We should stop this practice even though it may upset a few in the traditional higher education community who believe that there should be no federal role in what occurs on college campuses -- except when it comes to dramatically increasing federal student and research aid. The denial of credit transfers inhibits student completion and drives up the cost of postsecondary education to everyone involved by forcing students to take and pay for the same course twice.

It is important to remember that the bill even contains language specifying that institutions retain all rights to deny credits based on the criteria they themselves establish. In addition, some in the higher education community are already voluntarily implementing these provisions.

I believe that the American higher education system is the best in the world. But, I believe that we can still improve. Over the last few years, other countries have invested heavily into their higher education systems and are catching up to us in the quality of their workforce. We can not rest on our laurels.

By enacting these much needed provisions, the bill will ensure that our higher education system is strengthened and that accreditors continue to play a key role in providing access to quality higher education for American students.

As Congress continues the process of renewing and reauthorizing the Higher Education Act and builds on efforts to bridge the educational divide for America’s low and middle-income students, it is important for us to continue this dialogue and continue our work on evaluating ways to improve the accreditation system and build on the academic excellence of students.

Thank you again for joining us here to discuss this important topic and we look forward to your testimony.