II 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3380 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for accreditation 

reform, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 22, 2016 

Ms. WARREN (for herself, Mr. DURBIN, and Mr. SCHATZ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide 

for accreditation reform, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Accreditation Reform 

5 and Enhanced Accountability Act of 2016’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 The purpose of this Act is to improve the effective8 ness of recognized accreditation as an eligibility require9 ment for Federal education funding and to increase the 


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1 accountability of institutions of higher education for stu2 dent outcomes. 

3 SEC. 3. RECOGNITION OF ACCREDITING AGENCY OR ASSO4 CIATION. 

5 Section 496 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

6 U.S.C. 1099b) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (g)— 

8 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

9 ‘‘LIMITATION ON’’; 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘Nothing in this section 

11 shall be construed to permit the Secretary to 

12 establish any criteria that specifies, defines, or 

13 prescribes the standards that accrediting agen14 cies or associations shall use to assess any insti15 tution’s success with respect to student achieve16 ment.’’; and 

17 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘Nothing in this section shall prohibit the Sec19 retary from establishing regulations regarding 

20 the criteria for accrediting agencies or associa21 tions that are required under this section, in22 cluding criteria or standards with respect to 

23 student achievement, or from establishing dif24 ferentiated recognition processes for accrediting 

25 agencies or associations. Nothing in this section 


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1 shall be construed to permit the Secretary to 

2 establish any regulation that limits the aca3 demic freedom of an institution of higher edu4 cation, such as any criterion that specifies, de5 fines, or prescribes curriculum or instruction.’’; 

6 and 

7 (2) in subsection (o), by striking ‘‘Notwith8 standing any other provision of law, the Secretary 

9 shall not promulgate any regulation with respect to 

10 the standards of an accreditation agency or associa11 tion described in subsection (a)(5).’’. 

12 SEC. 4. ACCREDITATION STANDARDS. 

13 Section 496(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

14 (20 U.S.C. 1099b(a)) is amended— 

15 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

16 striking ‘‘of student achievement’’ and inserting ‘‘for 

17 the effectiveness of accrediting agencies or associa18 tions’’; 

19 (2) in paragraph (4)(A), by striking ‘‘the stated 

20 objective for which the courses or the programs are 

21 offered’’ and inserting ‘‘the objectives for which 

22 courses or programs of this type are offered’’; and 

23 (3) in paragraph (5)— 

24 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

25 (A), by striking ‘‘assess the institution’s’’ and 


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1 inserting ‘‘meet the criteria established by the 

2 Secretary with respect to such standards and 

3 assess and make accreditation determinations 

4 based on the institution’s’’; 

5 (B) by striking subparagraph (A) and in6 serting the following: 

7 ‘‘(A) outcomes and success with respect to 

8 student achievement in relation to the institu9 tion’s mission, according to standards deter10 mined by the Secretary, and data provided by 

11 the Secretary to accrediting agencies or associa12 tions, including retention rate, graduation and 

13 course completion rates, cohort default rate, re14 payment rate, transfer rate, student earnings 

15 after graduation, and job placement rates, pro16 fessional and vocational certification and licens17 ing examination pass rate, as applicable, and 

18 additional measures of student achievement, as 

19 determined by the Secretary;’’; 

20 (C) by striking subparagraph (E) and in21 serting the following: 

22 ‘‘(E) affordability, such as average net 

23 price and changes in tuition and fees;’’; 

24 (D) in subparagraph (I)— 


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1 (i) by inserting ‘‘and any actions 

2 taken against the institution by any State 

3 or the Federal Government, including on4 going investigations, lawsuits that have 

5 survived motions to dismiss, settlements, 

6 or any judgments against the institution in 

7 a State or Federal court’’ after ‘‘the agen8 cy or association’’; and 

9 (ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semi10 colon; 

11 (E) by striking subparagraph (J) and in12 serting the following: 

13 ‘‘(J) record of compliance with its program 

14 responsibilities under this title based on infor15 mation the Secretary may provide to the agency 

16 or association; and’’; and 

17 (F) by inserting after subparagraph (J) 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘(K) enrollment levels of students receiv20 ing Federal Pell Grants;’’. 

21 SEC. 5. MINIMUM BASELINE THRESHOLD. 

22 Section 496 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

23 U.S.C. 1099b) is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 

25 ‘‘(r) MINIMUM BASELINE THRESHOLD.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to be recognized 

2 by the Secretary as a reliable authority as to the 

3 quality of education or training offered by an insti4 tution of higher education seeking to participate in 

5 the programs authorized under this title, an accred6 iting agency or association shall require that each 

7 institution of higher education subject to its jurisdic8 tion meet or exceed the baseline thresholds estab9 lished by the Secretary pursuant to paragraph (3) 

10 for the student achievement measures described in 

11 paragraph (2) not less than 2 out of 3 consecutive 

12 years, in order to remain accredited by the agency 

13 or association. 

14 ‘‘(2) STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT MEASURES.—The 

15 student achievement measures required under this 

16 subsection shall be each of the following: 

17 ‘‘(A) The graduation rate, as defined by 

18 the Secretary through regulations, of the insti19 tution of higher education, for the most recent 

20 year or years for which data are available, for 

21 all students attending the institution. 

22 ‘‘(B) The 3-year cohort default rate, cal23 culated for the most recent year for which data 

24 are available, for all individuals who entered re25 payment on any Federal Direct Loan received 


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1 for attendance at the institution during the ap2 plicable year (as determined in accordance with 

3 section 435(m)). 

4 ‘‘(C) The 5-year cohort repayment rate, as 

5 defined by the Secretary through regulations, 

6 calculated for the most recent year for which 

7 data are available, for all individuals who en8 tered repayment on any Federal Direct Loan 

9 received for attendance at the institution during 

10 the applicable year. 

11 ‘‘(D) Any other measure, as determined by 

12 the Secretary through regulation, in consulta13 tion with the Commissioner of the National 

14 Center for Education Statistics. 

15 ‘‘(3) BASELINE THRESHOLDS.—The Secretary 

16 shall, through regulations, establish a baseline 

17 threshold for each of the student achievement meas18 ures described in paragraph (2) in relation to the in19 stitution’s mission. 

20 ‘‘(4) STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT DATA.—The Sec21 retary shall annually provide the necessary student 

22 achievement data to accrediting agencies or associa23 tions to carry out this subsection. 

24 ‘‘(5) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

25 this subsection shall be construed as prohibiting an 


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1 accrediting agency or association from assessing in2 stitutions of higher education using a holistic review 

3 of student achievement, which may include measures 

4 and thresholds beyond what is required by this sub5 section, or in subsection (a)(5)(A), for the purposes 

6 of continuous institutional improvement.’’. 

7 SEC. 6. ACCREDITATION REVIEWS. 

8 Section 496 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

9 U.S.C. 1099b), as amended by section 5, is further 

10 amended by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(s) ACCREDITATION REVIEWS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) STANDARD REVIEWS.—In order to be rec13 ognized by the Secretary as a reliable authority as 

14 to the quality of education or training offered by an 

15 institution of higher education seeking to participate 

16 in the programs authorized under this title, an ac17 crediting agency or association shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) require that each institution of higher 

19 education subject to its jurisdiction undergo a 

20 standard accreditation review at regular inter21 vals as determined by the agency or association, 

22 and before the agency or association first pro23 vides accreditation to such institution; and 

24 ‘‘(B) conduct the standard accreditation 

25 review and make accreditation determinations 


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1 based on the standards described in subsection 

2 (a)(5). 

3 ‘‘(2) ENHANCED ACCREDITATION REVIEWS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In order to be recog5 nized by the Secretary as a reliable authority as 

6 to the quality of education or training offered 

7 by an institution of higher education seeking to 

8 participate in the programs authorized under 

9 this title, an accrediting agency or association 

10 shall carry out an enhanced accreditation review 

11 of an institution of higher education subject to 

12 its jurisdiction— 

13 ‘‘(i) immediately after the agency or 

14 association learns— 

15 ‘‘(I) that the institution is the 

16 subject of an investigation, settlement, 

17 or adverse judgment by a Federal au18 thority (other than the Department) 

19 or a State for a violation relating to 

20 fraud or abuse, deceptive practices, or 

21 material harm to students enrolled, or 

22 previously enrolled, at the institution; 

23 or 

24 ‘‘(II) of any other situation or 

25 factor required by the Secretary 


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1 through regulations promulgated 

2 under this section that relate to the 

3 student achievement measures de4 scribed in subsection (r); 

5 ‘‘(ii) if the agency or association has 

6 reason to believe that the institution is fail7 ing to meet its program responsibilities 

8 under this title or is engaged in fraud or 

9 abuse, deceptive practices, or material 

10 harm to students enrolled, or previously 

11 enrolled, at the institution; or 

12 ‘‘(iii) at any other time the agency or 

13 association determines necessary, as out14 lined in the agency or association’s stand15 ards. 

16 ‘‘(B) CONTENT OF AN ENHANCED ACCRED17 ITATION REVIEW.—For each enhanced accredi18 tation review required under subparagraph 

19 (A)— 

20 ‘‘(i) the accrediting agency or associa21 tion may consider any of the factors that 

22 it considers during a standard accredita23 tion review; 

24 ‘‘(ii) the accrediting agency or asso25 ciation shall— 


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1 ‘‘(I) investigate the issue that 

2 triggered the enhanced accreditation 

3 review; and 

4 ‘‘(II) determine if the accredita5 tion of the institution should be with6 drawn or suspended, or if any other 

7 action should be taken; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) the institution shall be required 

9 to make additional disclosures, as deter10 mined by the Secretary through regula11 tions promulgated under this section, to 

12 the students attending the institution and 

13 to the public. 

14 ‘‘(C) REVIEW REPORTING REQUIRE15 MENTS.—An accrediting agency or association 

16 that conducts an enhanced accreditation review 

17 under this paragraph shall make available to 

18 the public on the agency or association’s 

19 website and submit to the Secretary, the appro20 priate State licensing or authorizing agency, 

21 and the appropriate State Attorney General— 

22 ‘‘(i) when the agency or association 

23 initiates the enhanced accreditation review 

24 and the reason for conducting the en25 hanced accreditation review; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) at the conclusion of the enhanced 

2 accreditation review, the information ob3 tained by the agency or association as part 

4 of the enhanced accreditation review, in5 cluding the institution’s performance on 

6 the student achievement measures, to the 

7 extent required by the Secretary through 

8 regulations promulgated under this section; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(iii) at the conclusion of the en11 hanced accreditation review, the outcome 

12 of the enhanced accreditation review and 

13 an explanation of the reasons for any ac14 tions taken as a result of the enhanced ac15 creditation review.’’. 

16 SEC. 7. ACCREDITATION AGENCY ACTION. 

17 Section 496 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

18 U.S.C. 1099b), as amended by sections 5 and 6, is further 

19 amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(t) ACCREDITATION AGENCY ACTION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to be recognized 

22 by the Secretary as a reliable authority as to the 

23 quality of education or training offered by an insti24 tution of higher education seeking to participate in 

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1 iting agency or association shall agree to take action, 

2 as described in paragraph (2), with respect to an in3 stitution of higher education subject to its jurisdic4 tion if any of the following occur: 

5 ‘‘(A) Change in ownership of the institu6 tion. 

7 ‘‘(B) Rapid change in size of student popu8 lation at the institution, as defined by the Sec9 retary in regulations promulgated under this 

10 section. 

11 ‘‘(C) Any notification by the Secretary to 

12 the agency or association of poor financial 

13 health, including— 

14 ‘‘(i) a lowering in the credit rating 

15 provided to the institution by a credit rat16 ing agency (as defined in section 3(a) of 

17 the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 

18 U.S.C. 78c(a))); and 

19 ‘‘(ii) any other indicator of financial 

20 weakness as defined by the Secretary, 

21 which may include heightened cash moni22 toring or the requirement to post a letter 

23 of credit. 

24 ‘‘(D) Any substantive change to the insti25 tution’s programs or locations. 


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1 ‘‘(E) Any other event determined appro2 priate by the Secretary through regulations pro3 mulgated under this section. 

4 ‘‘(F) Any other event determined by the 

5 accrediting agency or association. 

6 ‘‘(2) ACTIONS.—The actions that may be taken 

7 by an accrediting agency or association under this 

8 paragraph are the following: 

9 ‘‘(A) An enhanced accreditation review. 

10 ‘‘(B) Formal accrediting action taken by 

11 the agency or association, such as a compliance 

12 assessment or the imposition of formal condi13 tions on accreditation that occurs separate from 

14 the standard accreditation reviews. 

15 ‘‘(C) A formal request for additional infor16 mation. 

17 ‘‘(D) A recommendation that the institu18 tion carefully monitor and report to the accred19 iting agency or association factors relating to 

20 the event described in paragraph (1), or put 

21 into place appropriate controls or improvement 

22 strategies relating to such event. 

23 ‘‘(E) Other actions determined appropriate 

24 by the accrediting agency or association.’’. 


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1 SEC. 8. OPERATING PROCEDURES. 

2 (a) NOTIFICATION.—Section 496(a)(7) of the Higher 

3 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b(a)(7)) is amend4 ed— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘the Secretary and the appro6 priate State licensing or authorizing agency within 

7 30 days’’ and inserting ‘‘the Secretary, the appro8 priate State licensing or authorizing agency, and the 

9 appropriate State Attorney General, within 30 

10 days’’; and 

11 (2) by striking ‘‘adverse’’ and inserting ‘‘nega12 tive’’. 

13 (b) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—Section 496(c) 

14 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

15 1099b(c)) is amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (7)— 

17 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

18 (A), by striking ‘‘makes available to the public 

19 and the State licensing or authorizing agency, 

20 and submits to the Secretary, a summary of 

21 agency or association actions’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘makes available to the public on the agency or 

23 association’s website and submits to the Sec24 retary, the appropriate State licensing or au25 thorizing agency, and the appropriate State At26 torney General, and other relevant agencies, 


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1 which may include the Bureau of Consumer Fi2 nancial Protection, the Federal Trade Commis3 sion, the Department of Defense, and the De4 partment of Veterans Affairs, as appropriate, a 

5 summary of and justification for the final deci6 sion issued to the institution regarding each ac7 creditation action’’; and 

8 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘ad9 verse action taken with respect to an institution 

10 or placement on probation of an institution’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘negative action taken, including 

12 an order to show cause, with respect to an insti13 tution, or placement on probation of an institu14 tion’’; 

15 (2) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

16 the semicolon; and 

17 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(10) turns over to the Secretary all accredita19 tion documents of an institution that closes; and’’. 

20 SEC. 9. CONFLICT OF INTEREST. 

21 Section 496(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

22 (20 U.S.C. 1099b(a)) is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

24 the semicolon; 


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1 (2) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at 

2 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

3 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(9) such agency or association prohibits an in5 dividual— 

6 ‘‘(A) from participating in any review or 

7 decision making role in any part of the agency’s 

8 or association’s accreditation process, including 

9 service on the agency’s or association’s commis10 sion or governing board and reviewing or decid11 ing on accreditation policies or the accreditation 

12 status of institutions or programs, if the indi13 vidual, or a family member of the individual (as 

14 defined by the Secretary)— 

15 ‘‘(i) is an administrative officer of an 

16 institution of higher education accredited 

17 by or seeking accreditation from such 

18 agency or association; 

19 ‘‘(ii) has a financial stake in any insti20 tution of higher education (other than as 

21 an employee), including as an investor, 

22 bondholder, creditor, vendor, or contractor; 

23 ‘‘(iii) has a fiduciary responsibility to 

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1 ited by or seeking accreditation from such 

2 agency or association; 

3 ‘‘(iv) is a federally registered lobbyist; 

4 or 

5 ‘‘(v) is ineligible to participate under 

6 regulations prescribed by the Secretary 

7 based on affiliation with an institution that 

8 has a history of administrative or legal ac9 tion brought on behalf of students or tax10 payers, or that currently faces such action, 

11 or that closed without providing equitable 

12 treatment of students; and 

13 ‘‘(B) from participating in any review or 

14 decision making role in any part of the agency’s 

15 or association’s accreditation process with re16 spect to a particular institution or program, if 

17 the individual, or a family member of the indi18 vidual (as defined by the Secretary), is an em19 ployee or was an employee in the preceding 3 

20 years of the institution or program.’’. 

21 SEC. 10. ACCREDITATION AGENCY ACCOUNTABILITY. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 496 of the Higher Edu23 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b) is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (l)(1)— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘or’’ 

2 after the semicolon; 

3 (B) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking 

4 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

5 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(C) impose a fine if the agency or asso7 ciation failed to notify the Secretary when the 

8 agency or association had reason to believe an 

9 institution of higher education was failing to 

10 meet its program responsibilities under this title 

11 or was engaged in fraud or abuse, deceptive 

12 practices, or material harm to students en13 rolled, or previously enrolled, at the institution, 

14 or failed to take action under subsection (t)(2) 

15 for such an institution.’’; and 

16 (2) in subsection (n)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (3)— 

18 (i) in the first sentence, by inserting 

19 ‘‘or any institution that the agency or as20 sociation accredits’’ before the period at 

21 the end; 

22 (ii) by inserting after the first sen23 tence the following: ‘‘The Secretary shall 

24 conduct a performance-based review and 

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1 er the accrediting agency or association is 

2 a reliable authority on the quality of post3 secondary education, including the quality 

4 of the agency’s or association’s processes 

5 to accurately assess outcomes and success 

6 with respect to student achievement of the 

7 institutions the agency or association ac8 credits to deliver a quality education con9 sistent with the missions of the institu10 tions, and the effectiveness, timeliness, and 

11 consistency of the accrediting agency or as12 sociation in addressing the standards in 

13 subsection (a).’’; and 

14 (iii) by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall 

15 not, under any circumstances, base deci16 sions on the recognition or denial of rec17 ognition of accreditation agencies or asso18 ciations on criteria other than those con19 tained in this section.’’; and 

20 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(5)(A) Not later than 30 days after a finding 

22 by a Federal or State agency or court of law that 

23 an institution of higher education has violated a 

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1 rolled, or previously enrolled, at the institution of 

2 higher education, breached its fiduciary duty to the 

3 Department under this title, been the subject of a 

4 settlement or lawsuit that has survived a motion to 

5 dismiss by a State or Federal entity related to fraud 

6 or abuse or deceptive practices, or filed for bank7 ruptcy, the Secretary shall carry out the following: 

8 ‘‘(i) Initiate a review of the accrediting 

9 agency or association that accredited the insti10 tution to determine if the accrediting agency or 

11 association failed to effectively apply the cri12 teria in this section, or is otherwise not in com13 pliance with the requirements of this section, 

14 and, if the accrediting agency or association is 

15 not in compliance, shall initiate action pursuant 

16 to subsection (l) to take any or all of the fol17 lowing actions: 

18 ‘‘(I) Limit, suspend, or terminate rec19 ognition of the agency or association. 

20 ‘‘(II) Require the agency or associa21 tion to take appropriate action. 

22 ‘‘(III) Impose a fine for noncompli23 ance. 

24 ‘‘(ii) Make publicly available the initiation 

25 of the review and outcome. 


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1 ‘‘(B) The Office of Inspector General of the De2 partment shall review, on an annual basis, the Sec3 retary’s actions under this subsection, along with 

4 findings by the Secretary and provide recommenda5 tions on appropriate fines or actions (including with6 drawing approval or recognition of the accrediting 

7 agency or association) against an accrediting agency 

8 or association sanctioned under this section to the 

9 Secretary and appropriate Department staff. 

10 ‘‘(C) The Office of Inspector General of the De11 partment shall provide a report that is made avail12 able to the public and provide a copy to the National 

13 Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and In14 tegrity, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 

15 and Pensions of the Senate, and the Committee on 

16 Education and the Workforce of the House of Rep17 resentatives on the review under subparagraph (B). 

18 ‘‘(D) Any monetary penalty or payment as19 sessed by an accrediting agency or association on in20 stitutions of higher education subject to the jurisdic21 tion of the agency or association as a result of a fine 

22 imposed under this paragraph shall be assessed 

23 equally to each institution subject to the jurisdiction 

24 of the agency or association.’’. 


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1 SEC. 11. CREDIT TRANSFER AGREEMENT. 

2 Section 496(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

3 (20 U.S.C. 1099b(c)), as amended by section 8(b), is fur4 ther amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(11)(A) not later than 4 years after the date 

6 of enactment of the Accreditation Reform and En7 hanced Accountability Act of 2016, requires that 

8 each institution subject to the jurisdiction of the 

9 agency or association have a credit transfer agree10 ment with all other institutions accredited by the 

11 agency or association that provides for the transfer 

12 of credit earned for all general education courses 

13 and for courses required as part of substantially 

14 similar programs; and 

15 ‘‘(B) confirms, as a part of the accreditation or 

16 reaccreditation review conducted by the agency or 

17 association, that the institution has transfer of cred18 it policies that— 

19 ‘‘(i) meet the requirements of subpara20 graph (A); 

21 ‘‘(ii) are publicly disclosed; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) include a statement of the criteria es23 tablished by the institution regarding the trans24 fer of credit earned at another institution of 

25 higher education.’’. 


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1 SEC. 12. ACCREDITATION DISCLOSURE. 

2 (a) ACCREDITATION DISCLOSURE SYSTEM.—Part G 

3 of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

4 1088 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 493E. ACCREDITATION DISCLOSURE SYSTEM. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 

8 the date of enactment of the Accreditation Reform and 

9 Enhanced Accountability Act of 2016, the Secretary shall 

10 design and establish standards for standardized online ac11 creditation disclosures by institutions of higher education 

12 that participate in any program under this title. The Sec13 retary shall require each such institution of higher edu14 cation to— 

15 ‘‘(1) display, prominently on the institution’s 

16 website, a standard form of disclosure of the institu17 tion’s accreditation status, designed by the Sec18 retary, including whether the status is under appeal; 

19 ‘‘(2) regularly update such display as its ac20 creditation status changes; and 

21 ‘‘(3) include a link from such display, including 

22 on the homepage of the institution’s website, to any 

23 applicable supporting public documentation relating 

24 to the institution’s accreditation status, including 

25 correspondence to and from the accrediting agency 

26 or association. 


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1 ‘‘(b) ACCREDITATION TERMINOLOGY.—The Sec2 retary shall work with accrediting agencies and associa3 tions to establish by regulation common definitions for the 

4 various accreditation statuses and actions taken by accred5 iting agencies and associations, for use by such agencies 

6 and associations in all public documents and reporting to 

7 the Secretary, State licensing or authorizing agency, and 

8 State Attorneys General. 

9 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION.—In developing the system de10 scribed in subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with 

11 the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen12 sions of the Senate and the Committee on Education and 

13 the Workforce of the House of Representatives, other Fed14 eral agencies, student and consumer advocacy groups, in15 stitutions of higher education, accrediting agencies and as16 sociations, and other entities determined appropriate by 

17 the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(d) ACCREDITATION STATUS.—In this section, the 

19 term ‘accreditation status’ means— 

20 ‘‘(1) the issuance of any order to show cause; 

21 ‘‘(2) the initiation of an enhanced accreditation 

22 review under this Act and any action taken as a re23 sult of such review; 

24 ‘‘(3) any action taken pursuant to section 

25 496(t)(2); 


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1 ‘‘(4) any other action taken by an accrediting 

2 agency or association, as described in subparagraph 

3 (A), (B), or (C) of section 496(c)(8); and 

4 ‘‘(5) any other factor determined appropriate by 

5 the Secretary through regulation. 

6 ‘‘(e) TRANSPARENCY.—Not later than 1 year after 

7 the date of enactment of the Accreditation Reform and 

8 Enhanced Accountability Act of 2016, the Secretary shall 

9 collect from accrediting agencies and associations and 

10 publish on a federally maintained website all final docu11 ments produced in the agencies’ and associations’ reviews 

12 of institutions of higher education, including site-visit re13 ports, decision letters, a list of members of the review com14 mittees, and all other final documents that the Secretary 

15 determines appropriate.’’. 

16 (b) PROGRAM PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT.—Section 

17 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

18 1094(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(30) Not later than 3 years after the date of 

20 enactment of the Accreditation Reform and En21 hanced Accountability Act of 2016, the institution 

22 will use, prominently on the institution’s website, the 

23 standardized online accreditation disclosure system 

24 established by the Secretary under section 493E 

25 to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) disclose the accreditation status of 

2 the institution; and 

3 ‘‘(B) update the disclosure within 48 hours 

4 of receiving notification from an accrediting 

5 agency or association of a change in accredita6 tion status.’’. 

7 SEC. 13. DIFFERENTIATED ACCREDITATION STATUS. 

8 Section 496 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

9 U.S.C. 1099b), as amended by sections 5, 6, and 7, is 

10 further amended by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(u) DIFFERENTIATED ACCREDITATION STATUS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Solely for purposes of con13 sumer information, an accrediting agency or associa14 tion may designate an institution of higher edu15 cation that the agency or association accredits as 

16 ‘accredited with distinction’ or ‘accredited with risk’ 

17 according to definitions developed by the Secretary 

18 under paragraph (2). 

19 ‘‘(2) DESIGNATION DEFINITIONS.—The Sec20 retary, through regulation, shall develop definitions 

21 of ‘accredited with distinction’ and ‘accredited with 

22 risk’ that an accrediting agency or association shall 

23 use in making designations under paragraph (1) 

24 based on student achievement standards developed 


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1 in accordance with subsection (a)(5)(A) in relation 

2 to the institution of higher education’s mission.’’. 

3 SEC. 14. TEACH-OUT PLANS. 

4 Section 496(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

5 (20 U.S.C. 1099b(c)), as amended by sections 8 and 11, 

6 is further amended— 

7 (1) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(3)(A) requires an institution to submit for 

10 approval to the accrediting agency or association a 

11 teach-out plan if— 

12 ‘‘(i) the accrediting agency or association 

13 acts to withdraw, terminate, or suspend the ac14 creditation of the institution; 

15 ‘‘(ii) the accrediting agency or association 

16 requires the institution to show cause for con17 tinued accreditation; or 

18 ‘‘(iii) the institution notifies the accrediting 

19 agency or association that the institution in20 tends to cease operations; 

21 ‘‘(B) requires an institution to— 

22 ‘‘(i) submit for approval to the accrediting 

23 agency or association a teach-out plan not later 

24 than 30 days after the date— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the Department notifies the ac2 crediting agency or association of an action 

3 against the institution pursuant to section 

4 487(f); 

5 ‘‘(II) the accrediting agency or asso6 ciation places the institution on probation 

7 or show cause, or notifies the institution 

8 that the agency or association deems it a 

9 high-risk institution; 

10 ‘‘(III) the institution is required to 

11 post a Letter of Credit to the Department 

12 of Education; 

13 ‘‘(IV) the institution is placed on 

14 Heightened Cash Monitoring 2; 

15 ‘‘(V) the institution receives a failing 

16 Financial Responsibility Composite Score; 

17 ‘‘(VI) the institution is subject to an 

18 enhanced accreditation review under sub19 section (s)(2); or 

20 ‘‘(VII) the institution is at risk under 

21 regulations prescribed by the Secretary for 

22 this purpose; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) regularly update and maintain the 

24 teach-out plan until such time as the Secretary 

25 determines; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) does not approve a teach-out plan that in2 cludes a plan for the participation of any institution 

3 of higher education that is the subject of an inves4 tigation, settlement, or adverse judgment by a Fed5 eral authority (including the Department) or a State 

6 for a violation relating to fraud or abuse, deceptive 

7 practices, or material harm to students enrolled, or 

8 previously enrolled, at the institution;’’; 

9 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through 

10 (11) as paragraphs (5) through (12), respectively; 

11 and 

12 (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(4) with respect to private institutions, en15 sures that sufficient funds have been, or will be, allo16 cated to carry out all teach-out plans and agree17 ments required under paragraph (3);’’. 

18 SEC. 15. JURISDICTION. 

19 Section 496 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

20 U.S.C. 1099b), as amended by sections 5, 6, 7, and 13, 

21 is further amended by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(v) JURISDICTION.—Notwithstanding any other 

23 provision of law, any civil action brought by any party re24 garding this section or implementing regulations, or an in25 stitution of higher education seeking accreditation from, 


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1 or accredited by, an accrediting agency or association rec2 ognized by the Secretary for the purpose of this title and 

3 involving the denial, withdrawal, or termination of accredi4 tation of the institution of higher education, shall be 

5 brought in the appropriate United States district court.’’. 

6 SEC. 16. CHANGE OF ACCREDITOR. 

7 Section 496(h) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

8 (20 U.S.C. 1099b(h)) is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(h) CHANGE OF ACCREDITING AGENCY OR ASSOCIA10 TION.—The Secretary shall not recognize the accreditation 

11 of any otherwise eligible institution of higher education 

12 that is in the process of changing its accrediting agency 

13 or association, including due to a change in ownership of 

14 the institution, unless— 

15 ‘‘(1) the institution submits for approval to the 

16 Secretary all materials relating to the prior accredi17 tation, including materials that the Secretary deter18 mines demonstrate reasonable cause for changing 

19 the accrediting agency or association; 

20 ‘‘(2) the institution received full reaccreditation 

21 from the prior accrediting agency or association dur22 ing the 24-month period preceding the date of the 

23 recognition; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) the institution was reaccredited under its 

2 prior accrediting agency or association’s most recent 

3 accreditation standards.’’. 

4 SEC. 17. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that nothing in this Act 

6 or the amendments made by this Act limits the generally 

7 accepted principles of academic freedom of an institution 

8 of higher education or should be construed as providing 

9 authority to the Secretary of Education to limit that aca10 demic freedom. 

11 SEC. 18. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION; STUDENT ACHIEVE12 MENT DATA. 

13 Section 496 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

14 U.S.C. 1099b), as amended by sections 5, 6, 7, 13, and 

15 15, is further amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(w) DIFFERENTIATED ACCREDITATION PROC17 ESSES.—Nothing in this title shall be interpreted to pre18 vent an accrediting agency or association from estab19 lishing differentiated accreditation processes for institu20 tions based on risk. 

21 ‘‘(x) APPLICABILITY.—The provisions of this section 

22 shall apply to both institutional and programmatic accred23 itation that is a condition for an institution to be an eligi24 ble institution for the purposes of any program authorized 

25 under this title. 


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1 ‘‘(y) STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT DATA.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

3 the necessary student achievement data to accred4 iting agencies or associations needed to implement 

5 subsection (a)(5)(A). 

6 ‘‘(2) DISAGGREGATION.—To the extent prac7 ticable, the data described in paragraph (1) shall be 

8 provided to accrediting agencies or associations in a 

9 manner that can be disaggregated by Pell Grant re10 cipients.’’. 

Æ 


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