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The U.S. higher education system fails to fulfill its dual role of supporting peer-driven quality improvement efforts while serving as a gatekeeper for federal financial aid, according to a new report from the Texas Public Policy Foundation. One key reason for this, the paper argues, is that it is "impossible to be a consultant and a regulator simultaneously." The system tends to ignore outcomes and outputs while suppressing innovation, according to the report.
"Rather than trying to replace accreditation, we should reform it where possible, but also introduce 'escape hatches' that would allow portions of higher education to operate outside of the accreditation system," the report said. "These escape hatches would allow access to federal financial aid for students of colleges that meet high thresholds on output or outcome measures such as student learning or labor market returns."
