By Eric Kelderman

Washington

President Obama didn’t mention accreditation in his State of the Union address on Tuesday evening. But in a supplemental document released after the speech, the president made it clear that he is seeking major changes in the accountability system for higher education.

In the middle of the nine-page document, “The President’s Plan for a Strong Middle Class and a Strong America,” Mr. Obama laid out his broad intent to hold “colleges accountable for cost, value, and quality,” including a call to set benchmarks for affordability and student outcomes as criteria for receiving federal student financial aid. Regional and national accreditors are now the primary gatekeepers for access to those dollars…read more