Accreditors in the Crosshairs: The Politics of Educational Accreditation in a Polarized America

• In Event: Pedagogical Strategies and Challenges in Higher Education

Abstract

Accreditation has long been a widely accepted and fairly non-controversial part of both K-12 and Higher Education systems in the United States. With only occasional flare-ups, American politicians of all ideological stripes have traditionally embraced non-partisan accreditation agencies as key to holding all forms of educational institutions accountable for both procedural and substantive standards. However, in the last decade, ideological and partisan education battles that once simmered beneath the surface of political disagreements have exploded into the mainstream discourse, placing incredible pressure on both policymakers and educators. The changes have been so extreme and so rapid that the politics of accreditation threatens to create two separate educational systems in the United States—one run by red America, and one run by blue America. This development has catastrophic consequences for educational policymaking, academic freedom, and for civic discourse. This paper examines the purpose and practice of accreditation in the American political system, and details the proposed changes at local, state, and national jurisdictions and the rhetorical context in which they exist.

Author

• Andrew Pieper, Kennesaw State University