In the report from ACE's National Task Force on Institutional Accreditation, academic leaders urge the higher education community to strengthen and improve the quality and public accountability of the institutional accreditation process.
The report, Assuring Academic Quality in the 21st Century: Self-Regulation in a New Era, considers the central characteristics of accreditation and outlines common criticisms of the process. It then offers six major recommendations for steps colleges, universities and regional accreditors can and should take to ensure accreditation meets its public accountability responsibilities given the enormous diversity of American higher education.
The task force, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was co-chaired by University of Richmond (VA) President Edward Ayers and Association of American Universities President Emeritus Robert Berdahl, the membership included presidents and chancellors from public and private, nonprofit and for-profit, two-year and four-year institutions, along with accrediting agency officials and experts on accreditation.