From the Chronicle of Higher Education: The accreditor that oversees Harvard University said Friday that it’s considering removing language from its standards that refers to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The New England Commission of Higher Education — which accredits more than 200 colleges, primarily in the Northeast — is one of several major institutional accreditors that are reconsidering if and how members should demonstrate how they’re meeting diversity goals. The commission’s members were concerned about potential conflicts between the accreditor’s standards and declarations from the federal government that DEI measures are illegal, said Lawrence M. Schall, president of the commission.
The Trump administration has put intense pressure on both accreditors and their member colleges, including the New England commission in particular. In a June letter, the Departments of Health and Human Services and Education told the accreditor that it had found Harvard in violation of civil-rights law, and that action may be required because the university “may no longer meet” accreditation standards. (The commission has acknowledged to the departments that it received that notice, Schall said, and explained its process for responding to the issue.)
On Wednesday, the Department of Justice directed federally funded institutions to abandon any effort to rectify racial disparities in academic outcomes. The new guidance also suggested that efforts to target student recruitment in historically underserved communities could be using geography as an illegal proxy for race.
“What we heard from institutions is that they felt they would be put in an untenable position,” Schall said...
Full story at https://www.chronicle.com/article/under-pressure-from-trump-the-accreditor-overseeing-harvard-proposes-nixing-dei-standards.
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