Accreditation

A year after Education Secretary Margaret Spellings abandoned plans to propose new federal rules governing higher education accreditation, under heavy pressure from members of Congress, the Education Department is reportedly contemplating issuing such regulations when legislation to renew the Higher Education Act becomes law. That possibility is being met with astonishment by college leaders and many on Capitol Hill, who describe it as both practically difficult and politically foolhardy.

A college official charged with making sure faculty degrees are legitimate finds himself doubting the legitimacy of his own doctorate.

Statistics reveal a vastly greater academic failure rate among African-American versus other students, raising questions about ABA diversity standards and the effectiveness of outreach programs.

Dillard, Louisburg, South Florida and Sherman College of Chiropractic sanctioned; Florida A&M and Criswell leave the list of punished colleges.

With U.S. push for reporting of comparable learning outcomes stalled, is doomsday scenario of federal control still a legitimate threat?

When a professor is sued for her scholarly writing, should a university defend her?

Some two-year institutions are introducing capstone courses, long used at four-year liberal arts colleges, to culminate the community college experience.

Stymied in its efforts to alter federal laws and regulations to make it easier for students to transfer academic credits from one institution to another, the U.S. Education Department plans an "emergency" survey of federal Pell Grant recipients that seems designed to build a case that changes are necessary. The request has agitated some higher education officials, who questioned both the premise and the purpose of the department's information expedition.

Panelists at Blackboard conference discuss how to marshal data from measurement tools to achieve notable outcomes -- like maintaining accreditation, for one.

Some critics say the Department of Education's push to test all colleges and universities with a standard set of learning outcomes is a bad idea for traditional academic studies.