On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to change how colleges are accredited in the U.S. He believes this could help improve education and fight what he sees as a liberal bias in many colleges.
This new order aims to be stricter with colleges and the groups that approve them. One of the actions focuses on making sure colleges tell the government about their financial support from foreign countries, especially because Trump and his supporters are worried about ties with China and others that may not be friendly to the U.S.
Trump’s decision comes after complaints that Harvard and other colleges have not followed a law that requires them to report foreign money they receive if it’s over $250,000. This law has been around since the 1980s but hasn’t been enforced very strictly. The president is urging the Education Department and the attorney general to take action against colleges that do not comply, which might include cutting their federal funding.
Another part of Trump’s order targets accreditation groups, which are organizations that determine if colleges are meeting certain standards to get federal financial aid for students. Trump wants these groups to stop focusing on diversity and inclusion requirements and instead help colleges improve their graduation rates and prepare students for jobs.
He also wants to make it easier for new accreditation groups to get recognized so they can compete better with the 19 that currently have that power. Trump argues that the process to become an approved accreditor is too hard and should be simpler and faster.
In essence, Trump’s orders are part of his effort to change how colleges operate and ensure they’re not influenced by what he calls “divisive” ideas.
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