Oversight of College Quality and Approval of New Colleges by Accreditors in Texas

The paper analyzes actions taken by Texas accreditors to regulate college quality and to approve new colleges with substantial student reach.

Key points

– College accreditors rarely take formal action to discipline Texas colleges for poor student outcomes or low-quality academic programming.

– College accreditors almost never approve new colleges in Texas that reach significant numbers of students.

– Texas colleges that received accreditation in the last 20 years educate only 2% of the state’s undergraduates.