How would the Aim Higher Act and the PROSPER Act affect accreditation rules?

On July 24, 2018, Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-Va.) of the U.S. House Committee on Education & the Workforce introduced the Aim Higher Act, a bill to reauthorize the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA).

The Democratic proposal follows the December 2017 PROSPER Act (Promoting Opportunity, Success, and Prosperity through Education Reform or H.R. 4508), an HEA reauthorization bill introduced by House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC).

Both bills would change how accreditors are recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and how they grant accreditation to institutions of higher education.

The chart below compares the accreditation provisions in current law, the PROSPER Act, and the Aim Higher Act.

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