Jesse Scheckner
Florida is launching a multistate college and university accrediting agency — the Commission for Public Higher Education (CPHE) — to directly challenge existing regional accreditors that today hold a “monopoly” in higher education, Gov. Ron DeSantis said.
The agency will be backed by public university systems from Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, all Republican-led states that voted for President Donald Trump last year.
It’s the culmination of months of coordination between leaders in the Southern states who are frustrated with existing accreditors — particularly the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) — and their insistence on pushing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming on school campuses, DeSantis said.
“Who are these accreditors? Did you elect any of these accreditors to anything?” the Governor said during a press conference at Florida Atlantic University.
“When we’ve said, ‘No DEI,’ the accreditor was telling our universities, ‘Oh, no. You’re not going to get accredited unless you do DEI.’ Who the heck are they to say what our universities have to do? They’re telling them they can’t follow state law. … What we’ve seen develop is an accreditation cartel.”
DeSantis said the CPHE will “upend” the current accreditation “monopoly” and focus on “student achievement rather than ideological fads.” It’ll have to operate for “some period of time,” he added, before the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) approves it as valid.
Supporters of DEI initiatives on college campuses argue that such programs help foster inclusive learning environments, support historically marginalized students and better prepare graduates for a diverse workforce.
Critics contend DEI often prioritizes identity politics over merit, risks ideological conformity and suppresses open academic inquiry.
Accordingly, proponents of creating an alternative accrediting body like CPHE have argued it will upend current systems to refocus evaluation on academic outcomes and curb perceived political biases from traditional accreditors. Opponents warn that alternative accreditors may lack rigor, reduce national standards consistency and risk politicizing a process meant to ensure educational quality and access to federal aid.
The CPHE initiative builds on 2022 legislation GOP lawmakers in Florida passed that, among other things, requires state universities to be accredited by a different agency each accreditation cycle. North Carolina passed a similar law the following year.
The Florida measure (SB 7044) came after SACS warned the state Board of Governors that Florida State University could lose its accreditation due to then-Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran’s candidacy for the school’s presidency.
Corcoran instead became President of the New College of Florida in 2023, when Florida sued President Joe Biden’s administration, claiming the USDOE’s control over accreditation is unconstitutional. The suit was dismissed in October.
Florida State University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues said Florida’s initial partners in the CPHE endeavor are the University of Georgia, University of North Carolina, University of South Carolina, University of Tennessee and Texas A&M University.
DeSantis predicted that “every other state in the Southeast is going to rush” to join the effort.
Rodrigues called America’s current accreditation system “flawed” and offered statistics to back his assertion. He noted that more than 35% of accredited colleges in the U.S. fail to graduate at least half their students, according to the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, and said at least a third of graduates from more 900 accredited institutions earn less than 150% of the federal poverty line.
“The current accreditors and the current models are all focused on input and processes rather than outputs and outcomes,” Rodrigues said. “Too much time and effort is spent checking the compliance box and managing the minutiae of bureaucracy with very little focus on real, actual academic excellence. This approach suppresses innovation and it punishes institutions who try to do things differently.”
Joining DeSantis and Rodrigues for the announcement Thursday were Associate Vice Chancellor of Texas A&M University Shonda Gibson, University of South Carolina Board of Trustees Chair Thad Westbrook, and Adam Hasner, who was unanimously selected as Florida Atlantic University President in February.
Westbrook said the CPHE will help higher education institutions demonstrate to taxpayers that their money is being used effectively.
“It is not our mission to be involved in culture wars or political activity. It’s our mission to focus on students and student outcomes,” he said. “We do that by demonstrating that we can make the important changes, by demonstrating that we can be innovative (and) that we can work together and collaborate to help all of our students.”
