07-04-2025
Texas proposals would open more options for college accreditation. Here's why some oppose.
In what proponents say is a 'simple cleanup' and opponents call an 'unnecessary risk,' the Texas House and Senate education committees both are considering bills to expand college accreditation options for all the state's universities.
'The moment we have all been waiting for,' House Higher Education Committee Chair Rep. Terry Wilson, R-Georgetown, said at the Tuesday hearing as the audience laughed.
Accreditation is a yearslong process of peer review that ensures universities and their degrees and courses are held to certain standards of excellence and quality, and it has been part of the U.S. higher education system since the 1880s. Institutions need accreditation to qualify for federal financial aid and research grants, and they must get recertified every eight to 10 years.
Because of changes in 2019 under the first Trump administration, led by U.S. Education Secretary Betsy Devos, the federal government now gives institutions a choice over accreditors, which were typically only available regionally, but Texas law hasn't kept up.
More recently, Republican lawmakers have accused the accreditation process of perpetuating progressive values and have called for drastic reform. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Republican President Donald Trump said accrediting agencies were his 'secret weapon' in reforming universities away from 'indoctrinating America's youth,' and promised to fire left-leaning accreditors.
In Texas, state Rep. Joanne Shofner, R-Nacogdoches, filed House Bill 1705, and Sen. Kevin Sparks, R-Midland, filed a companion bill, Senate Bill 530, as a quick fix to eliminate the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges as the sole accreditor and allow universities to choose any accreditors from an approved list drawn up by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
"There is no fiscal impact, there's no mandate' with this bill, Shofner said. 'The purpose of this bill is simply to give choice."
Research by the Texas Public Policy Foundation, an influential conservative think tank, states that accreditors rarely discipline universities for poor student outcomes or 'worrisome' academic programs. Shofner, a freshman lawmaker, said the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges is associated with the highest debt-to-income ratio for bachelor's degrees, citing the policy foundation's 2022 report, which concluded that SACSCOC is the "worst" accreditor.
'HB 1705 is a simple fix to sync Texas law with the THECB's March 2024 decision. It's common sense, it's bipartisan, and it keeps our higher education system running smoothly,' said Tom Lindsay, a senior fellow at the policy foundation.
Belle Wheelan, president of SACSCOC, said in a 2022 letter that the policy foundation's report "reflects a flawed conclusion based on a flawed study," stating that its finding was made based on a minority of SACSCOC students, as the majority within the accreditor's region don't take out federal student loans, and it didn't consider other measures of success.
"SACSCOC continues to work to improve higher education for the benefit of society and welcomes feedback from all interested parties. However, I believe the TPPF report includes inaccurate information and, therefore, in no way captures the progress that SACSCOC member institutions continue to make in student achievement; nor does it provide useful critiques that can be used to further drive student achievement," Wheelan said in her letter.
"The facts demonstrate that SACSCOC institutions' academic and student achievement performance continues to remain in line with, or slightly exceed, those of other former regional accreditors," she said.
The Texas higher education board currently recognizes 16 accreditors, including SACSCOC, all of which are currently recognized by the U.S. Education Department, said Sarah Keyton, deputy commissioner for the board, in response to questioning.
The state legislative proposals would allow an institution to pick any accrediting agency on the board's list to satisfy accreditation requirements. Opponents, however, say the bill's language is too vague.
'It's not guaranteed that this will always have federally recognized agencies on' the approved list, Amanda Garcia, speaking on behalf of the American Federation of Teachers, said at the House education panel's hearing Tuesday. 'How the (state) Education Code is currently written ensures that we have that safeguard."
David Albert, Austin Community College's chapter president for the American Federation of Teachers union, said HB 1705 is an "unnecessary risk" to a system that's already working efficiently, and it could eventually lower the standards higher education institutes are held to.
Brian Evans, president of the Texas Conference of the American Association of University Professors, said that SACSCOC has specific rules that require universities to involve faculty members in decision-making. Republican state senators have also filed multiple bills this session aimed at restricting faculty senates and regulating shared governance at public universities
In response to the American-Statesman's emailed questions, Wheelan said SACSCOC, which has accredited Texas universities since 1895, has standards that are approved and developed in consultation with the institutions.
"Folks from institutions from ALL of our states serve on the Board that has final approval of them," Wheelan said in an email. "Peer evaluators from member institutions identify the standards and then serve on evaluation teams that determine if and how well institutions are meeting the standards."
Wheelan, however, said SACSCOC is not opposed to the bill as it is already the practice at the federal government level.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas lawmakers weigh bills to open college accreditation options
