US President Donald Trump targets college accreditation process in executive order

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump targeted the college accreditation process in a new executive order signed on Wednesday, The Hill reported. College accreditation is the process that universities must go through to receive federal financial aid.

White House staff secretary Will Scharf said, “University accreditation is currently a process controlled by a number of third-party organisations that are, by statute, by law. Many of those third-party accreditors have relied on a sort of woke ideology to accredit universities instead of accrediting based on merit and performance.”

The executive order’s text is not out yet. However, The Hill reported that a report from The Wall Street Journal claimed that Trump seeks to use the process to remove what he considers “ideological overreach” and increase “intellectual diversity” on campus.

.@POTUS signs an Executive Order to overhaul the higher education accreditation system, ensuring colleges and universities deliver high-quality, high-value education free from unlawful discrimination and ideological overreach. pic.twitter.com/4Odawv9g2E

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 23, 2025

As per the report, the order will enable colleges to switch accreditors easily and encourage more competition in the accreditor space. Accreditors have a variety of benchmarks that schools need to meet, including admissions to what classes they offer. After the accreditation is earned, very few schools lose it, even if student outcomes are dismal.

The lengthy federal approval process makes it hard for new accreditors to emerge. Accreditors consider their mission nonpartisan and reject accusations that they are advocating any ideological bent on universities.

Schools in the US that have banned certain diversity, equity, and inclusion programs have been able to stay in compliance with accreditors. However, universities in Florida and North Carolina are now required to switch accreditors after a few years.

Previously, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration over the college accreditation system. In 2023, DeSantis said he is not willing “to bow to unaccountable accreditors who think they should run Florida’s public universities,” The Hill reported.

Trump’s attention to accreditation could bring more fear into the higher education system, as a revocation of accreditation could remove access to financial aid and student loans. Furthermore, the Trump administration has indicated that it is not afraid to mess with university finances, as it has reduced funding for higher education institutions.

Last week, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem threatened to revoke Harvard University’s eligibility to enrol international students if it does not turn over records on international students’ “illegal and violent activities,” the agency has said, according to CNN.

As per a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) news release on Wednesday, Noem “wrote a scathing letter demanding detailed records on Harvard’s foreign student visa holders’ illegal and violent activities by April 30, 2025, or face immediate loss of Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification.”

According to DHS, the certification enables universities to issue forms to admitted students from abroad that they can use to apply for visas to enter the US. According to the university’s data, 6,793 international students study at Harvard University and comprise 27.2 per cent of its enrollment in the 2024-25 academic year.

On April 16, DHS announced the cancellation of two federal grants worth USD 2.7 million to Harvard University. In a statement, a Harvard spokesperson said that the university is aware of the letter. However, they stand by their previous statement that they “will not surrender their independence or relinquish their constitutional rights.”

The DHS letter accused Harvard of causing a “hostile learning environment” for Jewish students, CNN reported, citing student newspaper The Harvard Crimson. The letter reads, “It is a privilege to have foreign students attend Harvard University, not a guarantee.” (ANI)