When the negotiations next get underway to rewrite federal rules regarding Title IV of the U.S. Higher Education Act that regulates financial aid and related matters, the president of Clark State College will be at the table.
What’s happening: The president of Clark State College, Dr. Jo Alice Blondin, has been selected to serve on the U.S. Department of Education's Institutional Quality and Program Integrity. Blondin will serve as the primary negotiator on behalf of public two-year institutions of higher education in the rewriting of rules for the federal Education Department. She was nominated by the American Association of Community Colleges.
Why it’s important: “Negotiated rulemaking entails discussions about highly detailed and consequential federal policies affecting students and institutions,” says David Baime, senior vice president for government relations at the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). “Dr. Blondin is particularly well-suited to this task because of her long engagement and leadership with the accreditation process, as well as sustained service to community colleges.” Baime also said Blondin’s background in a variety of student and her administrative activities are great assets in the negotiations.
What it’s about: U.S. Department of Education's Institutional Quality and Integrity or makes recommendations regarding accrediting agencies that monitor the academic quality of postsecondary institutions and educational programs for federal purposes. The Committee advises the U.S. Secretary of Education on matters concerning accreditation, the
Secretary’s recognition process for accrediting agencies, and institutional eligibility for federal student aid, through the Committee’s public meetings.
What it means: The United States Education Department is required to undergo negotiated rulemaking in order to rewrite rules related to Title IV of the Higher Education Act. The Education Department’s goal for this rulemaking is to ensure that accrediting agencies and state authorizing agencies “are appropriately holding institutions accountable for providing high-quality educational opportunities“ and that financial aid policies are “more consumer-friendly.” In this round of rulemaking, the department is proposing (
in its own words) to increase the rigor of accreditation by determining how the Education Department can ensure that the standards agencies use to assess the quality of education are “sufficiently rigorous.” This could have tremendous implications for institutions.
Regulation of higher education in the United States takes a three-pronged approach in which the federal government, state governments, and accreditation organizations share responsibility, creating a triad. The Education Department seeks to “support and strengthen accreditation as a critical pillar of the regulatory triad,” which it believes has been altered by state laws in
Florida and
North Carolina that require institutions to switch accrediting agencies. Earning accreditation — which typically lasts between 8 and 10 years, with a review at the halfway point — is a years-long process. Proposed new requirements for site visits of additional “locations” by accreditors may present complications for community colleges.
What they’re saying: “I am honored to represent the two-year college sector in these important negotiations over the next three months,” says Blondin in a statement from Clark State College. “The issues around program quality, accreditation, and financial aid equity and access are areas of emphasis and interest in my 31-year career in higher education.”
Sources: Clark State College, U.S. Department of Education
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