What really happened when student loan reforms hitchhiked on the Affordable Care Act 15 years ago.

As a matter of fact, the AAU used to call itself an accreditor, before the federal government started relying on accreditors for GI Bill purposes. www.aau.edu/aau-history

Now is as good a time as any to start the rumor that the AAU, composed of the major research universities, is considering seeking federal recognition as a Title IV accreditor. After all, it already operates as an accreditor, determining membership based on standards it sets.

For decades, policy makers have been trying, and failing, to get across the message that COLLEGE isn't just four year degrees, it offers many other vocational options. Do we need a different word?

"droping" btw is the correct speling.

Hmm. What's up with the added comma? That's not in the law. Are they making integrity an afterthought? Is this the first step toward droping integrity completely? This is very concerning.

Will a Next Recession Spur Growth of Predatory Colleges & Training Providers, Again?
open.substack.com/pub/bobshire...

Academic integrity demands opposing government intrusion into curriculum and hiring (whether or not you support DEI hiring statements) @alicedreger.bsky.social
@heterodoxacademy.bsky.social

“The federal government has long stayed away from any involvement in a college’s curriculum or hiring, and current law prohibits this kind of intrusion into academic affairs…the executive order steps far across this line.” –TCF’s @bobshireman.bsky.social in today’s NYT.

More recently, legal scholars have pointed out that the question of how far this policy could extend has not been developed in the courts over the past several decades because the IRS has been reticent to use the authority. Until now, if the rumor is true. ncpl.law.nyu.edu/wp-content/u...

The Supreme Court upheld the IRS's revocation of BJU's tax exemption because racial discrimination is contrary to public policy. Some at the time said that the decision would come back to haunt us. 2/3 www.christianitytoday.com/1983/09/edit...

An IRS move against Harvard = not a surprise. In 1975, in the wake of frustrations over continuing segregation, civil rights groups pressed for the revocation of the tax-exempt status of Bob Jones University, which had excluded Black students and at the time prohibited interracial relationships. 1/3

"Yet even that undersells its value. Free inquiry is one of the cornerstones of American liberty, along with the freedom to criticise the president without fear of retribution."

Universities should draw a clear line: "what they teach and research is for them to decide... This principle is one reason why America became the world’s most innovative economy over the past 70 years, and why Russia and China did not...
www.economist.com/leaders/2025...

@bobshireman.bsky.social @tcfdotorg.bsky.social discusses how non-partisan accrediting agencies protect academic freedom, and the threat posed by Trump II. Check out Ac Freedom on the Line @biblioracle.bsky.social @aaup.bsky.social academicfreedomontheline.substack.com/p/are-colleg...

The biggest threat right now to America's international preeminence in higher education is not funding cuts, it is the loss of institutional independence. Here I explain what might happen, so that we all can work to prevent it. www.chronicle.com/article/how-...

How far will Trump go in threatening colleges? Here are the threats via accreditation www.chronicle.com/article/how-...

For over 30 years, college students have been assured that their student loan debts would eventually be forgiven if they made regular income-based payments.

This promise is now at risk due to legal challenges to the SAVE plan, via @bobshireman.bsky.social—who helped write the original legislation.

But he doesn't even need to go that far. Most colleges and accreditors will cower and crumple out of fear, claiming they are being prudent by avoiding legal costs, etc.

I don't get how some are downplaying what Trump can or might do, declaring that he "would need Congress" to end DEI or fire an accreditor. What makes them think that? Even if his authority is legally questionable, he owns the courts (and the military)
www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...

Yes, and scary similar how quickly and wholly the movement took over. Who would you say is today's equivalent of the Fighting Irish?

The western college accreditor is proposing to "refine" its standards by eliminating the DEI words in several places, sometimes replacing them with "success for all students." I missed yesterday's discussion, I'm curious if the change is facing opposition or concern.
www.wscuc.org/post/wscuc-2...