Ep. 213: WASC's Maria Toyoda on Accreditation's Uncertain Future

The Department of Education in August released its accreditation reform for public comment. If finalized, the new rules could expand accreditors’ responsibilities  to include policing First Amendment compliance and research misconduct. They could also force many agencies to set more specific standards for student achievement and hiring and to rethink their decades-old peer-review model.

In this episode, Inside Higher Ed editor in chief Sara Custer speaks with Maria Toyoda, president and CEO of the WASC Senior College and University Commission, about the details of the department’s proposal, how WASC is preparing for the changes and what the new rules signal for the relationship between the federal government, states and accreditors.