Publications

Accreditation is a central feature of higher education quality assurance in the United States, but historically, much of the process has operated out of public view and within a statutory framework that has not changed much in recent years. Declining public trust in higher education and questions about its value, however, have resulted in greater public and political scrutiny of the performance of colleges and universities.

In the United States, quality assurance is directly tied to the accreditation process. By analyzing the decisions that accreditors record in their formal action letters, we can identify the most common issues that institutions face and the priorities that shape accreditors’ decisions.

Accreditation is an important aspect of higher education, yet its processes and impacts remain largely opaque to the public. This research project aims to systematically analyze accreditation standards from each of the major US accreditors as well as offer insights into how these criteria influence student success and post-graduation outcomes.

This paper examines whether the adoption of data-driven practices by the seven former regional accreditors is associated with measurable changes in student outcomes. We document when accreditors introduced four observable practices—public dashboards, public-facing reports, peer benchmarking policies, and internal dashboards—and compare the onset of those practices with resulting changes in student outcomes.

As Mississippi prepares to support the statewide postsecondary attainment goal, understanding the returns to higher education is crucial to determining where to invest resources. Ithaka S+R has partnered with the Woodward Hines Education Foundation to provide Mississippi policymakers, advocates, and legislators with information they need to make strategic investments in postsecondary education that can increase attainment of high-value postsecondary credentials, especially amongst lower-income Mississippians, people of color, and residents in rural communities.

Since the passage of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, the federal government has relied on the accreditation process to ensure quality at postsecondary institutions receiving federal dollars. Ithaka S+R began a pilot study in 2021 to assess the feasibility of using publicly available data on the accreditation process and outcomes to evaluate the impact of federal oversight mechanisms on institutional and student outcomes. In this report, we provide an overview of accreditation in the US.