Topic: Governance
Blog Post
February 12, 2026
Accreditation, Outcomes, and Accountability
What We Learned from a Multi-Year Research Project
Ithaka S+R is publishing four reports, funded by Arnold Ventures, that examine the extent to which accreditor standards and interventions influence institutional performance, particularly as reflected in students’ outcomes. These reports provide concrete examples of how accreditors articulate expectations in their written standards, use data in monitoring institutions, communicate performance concerns through Commission Action Letters, and understand their responsibilities in the federal recognition process.
Issue Brief
February 12, 2026
Improving Oversight in Higher Education
Policy Recommendations on Accreditation
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.
Research Report
February 12, 2026
What Commission Action Letters Reveal
A Thematic Analysis of WSCUC Decisions (2012–2024)
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.
Research Report
February 12, 2026
Regional Accreditation Standards
A New Framework for Comparison
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.
Research Report
February 12, 2026
Understanding the Impact of Data-Driven Accreditor Practices on Student 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.
Research Report
November 12, 2025
State Uses of IPEDS Data
Insights for Strengthening the National Postsecondary Education Data Infrastructure
In collaboration with the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO), and with support from Lumina Foundation, we explored how state higher education agencies use data from IPEDS, the challenges they encounter, and their perspectives on the future of the federal postsecondary education data collection. In this report, we share our findings from a national survey as well as interviews with 14 SHEEO leaders, including directors and specialists in research, data, and analysis, as well as several senior executives and…
Blog Post
October 1, 2025
AI and the Research Enterprise at Emerging Research Institutions
Insights from the First GRANTED Workshop at Montclair State University
We recently convened the first workshop for the NSF-funded Advancing AI Implementation at Emerging Research Institutions, a project collaboratively led by Ithaka S+R, Montclair State University, and Chapman University. The workshop brought together 31 participants from 13 academic and medical institutions, as well as from an electronic research administration system provider to ask: how can research administrators at ERIs leverage AI to build more sustainable and equitable research capacity?…
Blog Post
June 24, 2025
Understanding the Federal Role in Higher Education Accreditation
In early June, the US Department of Education (ED) notified Columbia University’s accreditor, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), that Columbia had violated federal antidiscrimination laws. The announcement sparked a wave of strong reactions and discussions about the motivation of such a move. In response, we started to receive questions about what this could mean for Columbia University and for higher education more broadly. Since college accreditation rarely receives this level of public attention, many people, even…
Blog Post
June 16, 2025
An Endowment Tax Alternative
Estimating the Impact of a Five Percent Spend Policy
Currently, a set of the country’s wealthiest colleges and universities is subject to a 1.4 percent tax on net investment earnings. Over the past few months, several legislative proposals have taken aim at significantly increasing this tax, known colloquially as the “endowment tax.” The latest version, which was included in the reconciliation bill passed by the House in late May, includes a graduated rate structure that goes up to a 21 percent tax, depending on the size of the…
Blog Post
May 22, 2025
Undertaking Accreditation Reform
Possible Roles for NACIQI
A recent executive order (EO) has shone a new spotlight on postsecondary institutional accreditation, an area of higher education that traditionally operates in relative obscurity. Invoking increased accountability, reduced regulatory burdens, and enhanced institutional innovation, the EO seeks to streamline the accreditation process, align post-college outcomes with labor market needs, and allow for greater flexibility in the “who and how” of institutional accreditation. The accreditation system this EO aims to reform was established by the Higher Education…
Past Event
June 23, 2025
National Association of College and University Attorneys Conference
At the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA) annual conference in June 2025, Ithaka S+R’s Catharine Bond Hill will speak at a featured session alongside Timothy Lynch, the Vice President and General Counsel at the University of Michigan. The session is scheduled for 11:00am-12:30pm PT on June 23, 2025. See the full schedule to learn more.
Blog Post
May 19, 2025
AI Implementation and Governance at Emerging Research Institutions
Announcing a New NSF-Funded Planning Grant
Generative and other AI tools have the potential to transform and accelerate scientific research and communication. However, realizing that potential will require institutions to invest in the administrative and technical infrastructure, staffing, and capacity required to manage the data security, compliance, technical, and ethical issues of generative AI usage at the institutional level, and provide professional development for staff in units engaged in all aspects of the research enterprise. Creating this infrastructure will be difficult for all universities, but is…
Blog Post
January 21, 2025
Policies to Improve the Effect of the Endowment Tax on the Public Good
In 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act imposed a 1.4 percent excise tax on net investment earnings of a set of private colleges and universities that meet certain conditions. Currently, the excise tax applies to private colleges and universities that have at least 500 students and assets per student greater than $500,000, in practice reaching highly selective, high-endowment schools.[1] In 2023, 56 institutions were subject to the tax and paid a total of $380 million.[2] The stated…
Past Event
March 24, 2025
Faculty Members’ Perceptions of the Impact of Unionization on Shared Governance
Catharine Bond Hill will participate in a panel at the National Center’s 52nd annual national conference, which will focus on Unity in Defense of Higher Education and Collective Bargaining. The session, titled “Faculty Members’ Perceptions of the Impact of Unionization on Shared Governance,” will take place on Monday, March 24 at 3:30-5:00pm ET. Panelists include Brian Rossman, Ernesto Longa, Rotua Lumbantobing, and Catharine Bond Hill. Learn more about the session.
Past Event
November 22, 2024
Shifting the Burden?
Estimating the Effect of Tuition Freezes on Graduate Program Enrollment and Tuition Levels
At the Association for the Study of Higher Education’s (ASHE) 2024 General Conference, James Ward, Cameron Childress, Ifeatu Oliobi, and Robert Kelchen will participate in a panel discussion examining the relationship between state mandated tuition freezes for undergraduates at public institutions and changes in the enrollment and completions of graduate students, the number of graduate programs being offered, and graduate program tuition. The session is scheduled to take place on November 22 at 3:45 to 5:00pm.
Past Event
November 23, 2024
Scholars in the Real World
Utilizing Research in Program Implementation and Policy Decision-making
At the Association for the Study of Higher Education’s (ASHE) 2024 General Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, an interactive symposium will engage audience members to think critically about about how research is used in higher education policy. Using their roles as researchers, knowledge brokers, and decision-makers in roles adjacent to academia, panelists Ifeatu Oliobi, Emily Parrott, Kristen Glasener, Vikash Reddy, KC Deane, and Kyle Southern will illustrate specific examples of policy-relevant research, expanding the definition of “scholars” and “scholarship.” The…
Blog Post
October 16, 2024
Understanding the Role of NACIQI in Quality Assurance
New Report on the Relationship Between NACIQI and Accreditors
As the pace of institutional closure increases for colleges and universities around the United States, the quality assurance ecosystem for postsecondary education becomes ever more essential. The three pillars of that ecosystem—the “triad” established by the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEA)—are the federal Department of Education (ED), the accreditation agencies recognized by ED, and the various state governments which authorize institutions to operate. Together, the triad serves as gatekeepers for student access to federal financial aid, which…
Research Report
October 16, 2024
Beyond Standards
A Critical Examination of the Relationship between NACIQI and Accreditors
The report begins with a primer on the system of higher education quality assurance as it currently exists to establish the necessary context for a closer focus on the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) and its relationships with accreditation organizations. The contextual overview will include a brief explanation of the three members of the quality assurance triad (state recognition boards, accreditors, and the Department of Education) followed by a deeper dive into NACIQI.
Past Event
March 17, 2024
Higher Education Leadership in Challenging Times: The Year Ahead
At the National Center’s 51st Annual National Conference, “New Crossroads in Collective Bargaining and Labor Relations in Higher Education and the Professions,” Ithaka S+R Managing Director and former President of Vassar College Catharine Bond Hill will speak on a panel with Ann Kurschner (Hunter College), Daniel Greenstein (Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education), Frederick P. Schaffer (former general counsel, CUNY), in a discussion on higher education leadership in challenging times. The session will take place on Sunday, March 17 at…
Past Event
July 20, 2024
The Role of Trustees in Risk Oversight: What Leaders Need to Know
NACUBO 2024
Today’s higher education issues highlighted throughout media sources range from enrollment declines, to diminished trust, business model challenges, and questions about the value of a college education. When a serious risk event occurs, key stakeholders, including students, parents, alumni, the community, and regulators, inevitably ask: Where were the trustees? Were they aware of these risks? Did they exercise proper oversight? In a session at NACUBO 2024 Annual Meeting in Chicago, trustee and administrator panelists will discuss their views on communicating…