WASHINGTON\u00a0\u2014\u00a0<\/span>President Trump has ordered sharper scrutiny of America\u2019s colleges and the accreditors that oversee them, part of his escalating campaign to end what he calls \u201cwokeness \u201d and diversity efforts in education.<\/p>\n In a series of executive actions signed Wednesday, Trump targeted universities that he views as liberal adversaries to his political agenda. One order called for harder enforcement of a federal law requiring colleges to disclose their financial ties with foreign sources, while another called for a shake-up of the accrediting bodies that decide whether colleges can accept federal financial aid awarded to students.<\/p>\n Colleges\u2019 financial ties with foreign sources have long been a concern among Republicans, especially ties with China and other countries with adversarial relationships with the U.S. It became a priority during Trump\u2019s first term and reemerged last week as the White House grasped for leverage in its escalating battle with Harvard University.<\/p>\n The White House said it needed to take action because Harvard and other colleges have routinely violated a federal disclosure law, which has been unevenly enforced since it was passed in the 1980s. Known as Section 117 of the Higher Education Act, the law requires colleges to disclose foreign gifts and contracts valued at $250,000 or more.<\/p>\n In the executive order, Trump calls on the Education Department and the attorney general to step up enforcement of the law and take action against colleges that violate it, including a cutoff of federal money.<\/p>\n Another order aims at accrediting bodies that set standards colleges must meet to accept federal financial aid from students. Trump campaigned on a promise to overhaul the industry, saying it was \u201cdominated by Marxist Maniacs and lunatics.\u201d<\/p>\n Often overlooked as an obscure branch of college oversight, accreditors play an important role in shaping colleges in many aspects, with standards that apply all the way from colleges\u2019 governing boards to classroom curriculum.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s executive order is the opening salvo in what could be a lengthy battle to overhaul the accrediting industry. Chief among his priorities is to strip accreditors of diversity, equity and inclusion requirements imposed on colleges. Some accreditors have already dropped or stopped enforcing such standards amid Trump\u2019s DEI crackdown.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s order calls on the government to suspend or terminate accreditors that discriminate in the name of DEI. Instead, it calls on accreditors to focus more squarely on the student outcomes of colleges and programs they oversee.<\/p>\n The president wants to make it easier for new accreditors to compete with the 19 that are now authorized to work on behalf of the federal government. As it stands, new accreditors looking to be recognized by the government must undergo an arduous process that traditionally takes years. Trump\u2019s order said it should be \u201ctransparent, efficient, and not unduly burdensome.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cInstead of pushing schools to adopt a divisive DEI ideology, accreditors should be focused on helping schools improve graduation rates and graduates\u2019 performance in the labor market,\u201d Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement.<\/p>\n The executive orders signed by President Trump mark a significant shift in the approach to college accreditation and diversity efforts in education. By targeting colleges’ financial ties with foreign sources and aiming to overhaul the accrediting industry, Trump’s administration seeks to reshape the higher education landscape in the United States.<\/p>\n Trump’s Executive Orders Targeting College Accreditation and Schools’ Equity Efforts Introduction to the Executive Orders WASHINGTON\u00a0\u2014\u00a0President Trump has ordered sharper scrutiny of America\u2019s colleges and the accreditors that oversee them, part of his escalating campaign to end what he calls \u201cwokeness \u201d and diversity efforts in education. In a series of executive actions signed Wednesday, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13045,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13044","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-education"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/ca-times.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/d8fcb3a\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/4833x2537+0+342\/resize\/1200x630!\/quality\/75\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F4a%2F44%2Fd588bf00a3f4fbd94a22d7fc77b1%2Fe3d1f35127914d698220c2681e89c328","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13044"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13044"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13044\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13046,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13044\/revisions\/13046"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/los-angeles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Colleges’ Financial Ties with Foreign Sources<\/h2>\n
Background and Concerns<\/h3>\n
Enforcement of Disclosure Law<\/h3>\n
Action Against Violating Colleges<\/h3>\n
Accrediting Bodies and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Requirements<\/h2>\n
Overhauling the Accrediting Industry<\/h3>\n
Role of Accreditors in Shaping Colleges<\/h3>\n
Trump’s Priorities for Accrediting Bodies<\/h3>\n
Suspension or Termination of Accreditors<\/h2>\n
Making Accreditation More Competitive<\/h2>\n
Reaction to the Executive Orders<\/h2>\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\n
FAQs<\/h2>\n
\n
\nA: The main focus is on enforcing disclosure of colleges’ financial ties with foreign sources and overhauling the accrediting industry to remove diversity, equity, and inclusion requirements.<\/li>\n
\nA: There are concerns that countries like China might exploit these ties for research and to indoctrinate students, posing a risk to national security and academic integrity.<\/li>\n
\nA: Accreditors set standards for colleges to meet to accept federal financial aid, influencing aspects from governance to curriculum.<\/li>\n
\nA: Trump proposes to strip accreditors of diversity, equity, and inclusion requirements and to make the accreditation process more competitive and focused on student outcomes.<\/li>\n
\nA: These changes could lead to a shift in how colleges approach diversity and inclusion and might impact the availability of federal financial aid, potentially affecting student access to higher education.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"