,i #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #degi ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,september #bg1 #bjai,ms4 ,wilson of ,florida introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,education and ,labor ,a ,,bill ,to require the ,secretary of ,education to initiate a negotiated rulemaking process with respect to when an institution of higher education fails to meet accreditation standards1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,quality ,higher ,education ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,rulemaking requirements for accrediting agency recognition 7a7 ,rulemaking ,the ,secretary of ,education shall initiate a negotiated rulemaking process to-- 7#a7 establish a common set of steps or consequences each accrediting agency or association shall follow when any institution of higher education subject to the jurisdiction of such agency or association fails to meet the accreditation standards selected or set by such agency or association pursuant to section #dif7;a77#e7 of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajii;b7a77#e771 as amended by this section2 and 7#b7 establish the list of standards 7and a definition for each such standard7 that shall be used by each accrediting agency or association for purposes of section #dif7;a77#e77;,a7 of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajii;b7a77#e77;,a77 for each of the following domains3 7,a7 ,completion 7which may include standards on graduation rates or rates of transfer from a #b-year to a #d-year institution74 7,b7 ,workforce participation 7which may include standards on rates of licensure1 job placement1 or employment74 7,c7 ,measures that assess the progress of an institution toward meeting the standards for completion and workforce participation 7which may include standards on retention rates and persistence rates74 7b7 ,recognition of accrediting agency or association ,section #dif of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajii;b7 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7a7-- 7,a7 in paragraph 7#e71 by striking subparagraphs 7,a7 through 7,j7 and inserting the following3 7,a7 success with respect to student achievement in relation to the institution's mission 7except that the agencies and associations described in paragraph 7#b77;,a77ii7 shall not be subject to this subparagraph71 which-- 7i7 shall be assessed using at least #a standard selected by the agency or association from a list of options for such standards established and defined by the ,secretary under section #b7;a7 of the ,quality ,higher ,education ,act of #bjai for each of the following domains-- 7,i7 completion2 7,,ii7 workforce participation2 and 7,,iii7 measures that assess progress toward meeting the completion and workforce participation standards2 7ii7 may be assessed using different standards selected under clause 7i7 for each peer group of institutions1 as such groups are defined by the agency or association1 except that-- 7,i7 each standard selected for a peer group of institutions shall be the same standard for1 and shall be applied consistently to1 all the institutions in the peer group2 and 7,,ii7 such a peer group of institutions cannot be based solely on-- 7aa7 the demographic characteristics of the students attending such institutions2 or 7bb7 the sector of the institution 7including whether the institution is a public institution1 a proprietary institution1 or a nonprofit institution72 7iii7 shall be assessed using a single performance benchmark established by the agency or association for each standard selected under clause 7i71 which shall be the same performance benchmark for all institutions for the standard for which the benchmark is established 7without regard to the peer group of an institution71 except that such a performance benchmark may differ for each category of educational programs 7as defined in section #dce7;a77#i77;,e77 offered by institutions1 as long as the performance benchmark for any such category is the same performance benchmark for all institutions 7without regard to the peer group of an institution72 and 7iv7 in the case of an institution defined in section #aja7;a71 may include consideration of-- 7,i7 the historical significance of the institution2 and 7,,ii7 whether the institution is one of the only physical locations at which postsecondary education is provided in the geographic area2 7,b7 student achievement outcomes and program outcomes disaggregated by the subgroups specified in section #aec7;a77#c77;,a7 of the ,education ,sciences ,reform ,act of #bjjb 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #iedc7;a77#c77;,a772 7,c7 credentials1 as measured by the value of such credentials to the earners of such credentials2 7,d7 curricula1 including program length1 course sequencing1 and objectives related to credentialing2 7,e7 faculty2 7,f7 student support services2 7,g7 recruiting and admissions practices1 academic calendars1 catalogues1 publications1 and grading2 and 7,h7 fiscal and administrative capacity 7which shall include the institution's governance7 as appropriate to the specified scale of operations2 2 7,b7 by redesignating paragraphs 7#f7 through 7#h7 as paragraphs 7#g7 through 7#i71 respectively2 and 7,c7 by inserting after paragraph 7#e7 the following3 7#f7 such agency or association shall make available on a publicly accessible website1 up-to-date information on-- 7,a7 the institutions in each peer group of institutions that are subject to the jurisdiction of such agency or association2 7,b7 the student achievement standards selected by the agency or association under paragraph 7#e7 for each peer group of institutions1 the rationale for the selection of such standards1 and how such standards are factored into the accreditation process2 7,c7 the performance benchmark established for each standard selected by the agency or association under paragraph 7#e7 and the rationale for the establishment of such performance benchmark2 7,d7 the institutions that failed to meet such standards2 and 7,e7 any sanction1 adverse action1 or other action taken with respect to an institution and the reason for such sanction or adverse action2 and 2 7#b7 in subsection 7g71 in the last sentence1 by striking ,nothing in and inserting the following3 ,except as otherwise specified in subsection 7a77#e77;,a7 and section #b7;a7 of the ,quality ,higher ,education ,act of #bjai1 nothing in2 7#c7 in subsection 7o71 in the second sentence1 by striking ,notwithstanding and inserting the following3 ,except as otherwise provided in subsection 7a77#e77;,a7 and section #b7;a7 of the ,quality ,higher ,education ,act of #bjai and notwithstanding2 7#d7 in subsection 7p71 by striking ,nothing and inserting ,except as otherwise provided in subsection 7a77#e77;,a7 and section #b7;a7 of the ,quality ,higher ,education ,act of #bjai1 nothing2 and 7#e7 by adding at the end the following3 7r7 ,evaluation of quality and achievement measures 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall direct the ,national ,advisory ,committee on ,institutional ,quality and ,integrity to-- 7,a7 regularly evaluate the effectiveness of the performance benchmarks established and standards selected by accrediting agencies and associations under subsection 7a77#e77;,a72 and 7,b7 compare similarly situated accrediting agencies or associations1 whose similarity may not be determined solely by the educational sector to which the institutions being evaluated belong1 based on the performance benchmarks and standards used in subsection 7a77#e77;,a7 by such agencies and associations4 7#b7 ,accreditor standards ,the ,secretary may require an accrediting agency or association to review and revise the standards selected1 or the performance benchmarks established1 by such agency or association1 if the ,secretary determines that the standards are not appropriate for the peer group of institutions for which such standards were selected1 or that the performance benchmarks for standards for the domains listed in subsection 7a77#e77;,a77i7 are too low4 4