The Trump administration effectively eliminated the regional accreditation system in 2019. That shift is now driving some changes at higher education’s leading accreditors.
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A longstanding member is departing the Council on Recognized Accrediting Commissions, an organization representing institutional accreditors. This is the most recent development indicating that accreditors are reconsidering how they collaborate with their counterparts and define themselves.
The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities announced on Friday that it is splitting from C-RAC. Officials stated in a press release that the decision is intended “to focus on” NWCCU’s “national engagement where it can have the greatest impact for the institutions it serves.”
NWCCU is one of the seven institutional accreditors that make up C-RAC’s membership. (All seven were previously considered regional accreditors before the Trump administration removed geographic restrictions in 2019.)
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Commission officials characterized the move as part of a larger strategic rebranding that will demonstrate a dedication to universities nationwide, despite a historical emphasis on the Northwest region.
“While the commission has served colleges and universities across the Northwest and beyond for more than a century, its reach and relevance have grown well beyond any regional boundary,” officials wrote in the press release. “The new identity will honor that legacy while positioning NWCCU as the nationally relevant, relationship-centered accreditor it is today.”
NWCCU will continue to be a member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
NWCCU promised additional details about the rebranding “in the coming months.” If the rebranding effort involves a name change, it would be the second accreditor to take such a step this year. On Thursday, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges announced it is rebranding to remove its regional identifier. The accreditor will now be known simply as the Commission on Colleges and Universities, a change that President Stephen L. Pruitt said is meant to reflect “who we are today and where higher education is going.”
NWCCU president Selena M. Grace struck a similar note in Friday’s announcement.
“This is a time that calls for clarity about who we are and where we’re headed,” she said in the press release. “Everything we’re announcing today, our national engagement, our partnerships, our evolving identity, reflects the same thing: an organization that is growing with higher education, as opposed to reacting to it. We simply cannot wait to lead this moment forward.”
Although the rebranded COCU and the Northwest Commission may be the first accreditors to shed their geographic labels, C-RAC also rebranded earlier this year. More than six years after the first Trump administration eliminated geographic boundaries, C-RAC changed its name in January, swapping the term “regional” for “recognized.”
(C-RAC did not respond to a request for comment from Inside Higher Ed.)
Trump administration officials have been critical of the term “regional accreditation,” issuing a proposed interpretive rule in February to stop the use of the phrase, which Education Department officials said in a press release created “artificial distinctions” and confusion. (The term appeared to confuse Education Secretary Linda McMahon last May.)
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Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent has also previously criticized the use of the term.
“Accreditors, institutions of higher education, states, and professional licensure boards continue to cling to outdated terminology that prioritizes artificially inflated prestige over real student outcomes,” he said in a February press release about the interpretive rule. “We urge those still holding on to the misleading phrase ‘regional accreditor’ to abandon it immediately.”
Name changes come at a time of potential disruption for the accreditation system.
Last month, an advisory committee advanced the Trump administration’s proposed overhaul of accreditation that would make it easier for new accreditors to gain federal recognition and impose new requirements on the agencies, among other changes. ED officials have argued that upcoming changes, which the department is working to finalize, will modernize a broken system they view as a barrier to innovation and a drain on institutional resources. However, critics argue that the changes will weaken accountability and enable bad actors in the sector.