On April 23, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed Executive Order 14279, which seeks to reform the accreditation system for higher education in the United States. The order highlights the role of accreditors as critical gatekeepers for federal student loans and grants, which exceed $100 billion annually. It asserts that many accreditors have failed to ensure quality education, approving institutions that do not meet essential educational standards.

The national six-year undergraduate graduation rate was reported at 64 percent in 2020, with a significant number of accredited programs yielding poor financial returns for graduates. The order criticizes accreditors for focusing on ideological compliance, particularly regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) standards, rather than on student outcomes. It notes that some accreditors have made adherence to DEI principles a condition for accreditation, which the order claims can lead to unlawful discrimination.

Specific examples include the American Bar Association's requirements for law schools to demonstrate a commitment to diversity, which have been deemed in violation of Supreme Court rulings. Similarly, medical education accreditors are criticized for requiring diversity initiatives that may detract from educational quality.

The executive order mandates that the Secretary of Education hold accreditors accountable for any unlawful actions and outlines new principles for accreditation that prioritize high-quality education free from discrimination. It emphasizes the need for accreditors to support intellectual diversity and to avoid practices that inflate educational costs unnecessarily.

The order also proposes measures to enhance competition among accreditors and to streamline the accreditation process, ensuring that institutions can focus on delivering valuable educational programs without being hindered by potentially discriminatory practices. The overarching goal is to realign accreditation with the needs of students and taxpayers, promoting educational quality and equity in access to federal funding.