I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 838
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide greater academic 
freedom for institutions of higher education, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 13, 2003
Mr. PETRI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide 
greater academic freedom for institutions of higher edu-
cation, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCES. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Higher Education Accrediting Agency Responsibility Act 
of 2003’’. 
(b) REFERENCES TO HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 
1965.—Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever 
in this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 
of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi-
sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 
section or other provision of the Higher Education Act of 
1965. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) Accrediting agencies were originally in-
tended to provide voluntary, nongovernmental over-
sight of institutions of higher education. 
(2) However, Congress has allowed accreditors 
to 
become 
gatekeepers 
of 
more 
than 
$40,000,000,000 of Federal student aid funds due 
to such agencies role, enshrined in current Federal 
law, to help determine an institution’s eligibility to 
participate in Federal student aid programs. 
(3) More effective and less costly mechanisms 
are already in place to protect students and parents, 
as no institution can receive Federal funds until the 
Department of Education certifies its financial and 
administrative capacity. Additionally, the amount of 
useful information publicly available about the qual-
ity of academic institutions has grown dramatically 
in recent years and now far exceeds the minimal 
amount conveyed by the accreditation system. 
(4) It is virtually unknown for an institution to 
be denied accreditation because of low educational
values, despite growing public concern that Amer-
ican college graduates are lacking the skills nec-
essary for participation in civic life. 
(5) The time and effort required of institutions 
of higher education to comply with the accreditation 
process imposes costs which must ultimately be 
borne by students and parents. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol-
lows: 
(1) To refocus the purpose of accreditation on 
providing comparative information about the quality 
of institutions of higher education, rather than de-
termining student aid eligibility, which should prop-
erly be the responsibility of the Department of Edu-
cation. 
(2) To end the virtual monopoly that today’s 
accrediting agencies enjoy, and require them to oper-
ate in a competitive environment like any other in-
dustry. 
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS AND REPEALS. 
(a) QUALIFICATION OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER 
EDUCATION.—Section 101 (20 U.S.C. 1001) is amend-
ed—
(1) in subsection (a)—
(A) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of para-
graph (3); 
(B) by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end of para-
graph (4) and inserting a period; and 
(C) by striking paragraph (5); and 
(2) by striking subsection (c). 
(b) QUALIFICATION OF PROPRIETARY INSTITUTIONS 
OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—Section 102(b)(1) (20 U.S.C. 
1002(b)(1)) is amended—
(1) by striking subparagraph (D); and 
(2) by redesignating subparagraphs (E) and 
(F) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respectively. 
(c) NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON INSTITU-
TIONAL QUALITY
AND INTEGRITY.—Section 114 (20 
U.S.C. 1011c) is repealed. 
(d) DISCLOSURES
OF
FOREIGN
GIFTS.—Section 
117(h)(4) (20 U.S.C. 1011f(h)(4)) is amended—
(1) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (A); and 
(2) by striking subparagraph (C). 
(e) TITLE III ELIGIBLE INSTITUTIONS.—Section 
312(b)(1) (20 U.S.C. 1058(b)(1)) is amended—
(1) by striking subparagraph (D); and 
(2) by redesignating subparagraphs (E) and 
(F) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respectively.