Accreditation Choice and Innovation Act

Increased State-Level Options for Accreditation: States may designate industry-specific quality assurance entities as accrediting agencies, providing more specific options for education or skills development (Section 2(a)(2)(D)).

Enhanced Institutional Independence: The bill requires accrediting agencies to be administratively and financially separate from related trade associations or membership organizations to prevent conflicts of interest (Section 2(a)(3)).

Protection of Religious Missions: The bill ensures that accrediting agencies respect the stated religious mission of an institution and do not use a religious mission-based policy or practice as a negative factor for accreditation (Section 2(a)(4)(B)).

Focus on Student Success Outcomes: Accreditation standards will include measures for student success, such as completion rates, retention rates, loan repayment rates, and a comparison of total price to value-added earnings (Section 2(a)(5)(A)(i)).

Improved Transparency for Students: Accrediting agencies must make certain information publicly available on their websites, including a list of accredited institutions with the years accreditation was granted and anticipated next evaluation dates (Section 2(c)(4)(11)).

Flexibility through Risk-Based Reviews: Agencies can establish risk-based processes that reduce compliance requirements, such as on-site inspections, for institutions that meet or exceed established standards (Section 2(p)(1)(C)).

Administrative Burden for Institutions: Institutions may be required to submit annual plans to address performance issues if they are identified as not meeting standards (Section 2(c)(2)(B)).

Strict Requirements for Instruction Delivery: Institutions using specific instruction delivery models that separate students from instructors must implement processes to verify student identity and completion, which must be implemented in a manner that is "minimally burdensome" (Section 2(a)(4)(C)).

New Obligations for Accrediting Agencies: Agencies are now required to develop policies to identify institutions or programs not meeting standards, including annual evaluations of compliance (Section 2(c)(2)).