The Department of Education has begun remaking its accreditation advisory apparatus, installing Jay Greene as chair of NACIQI and signaling a push to prioritize graduation rates, earnings and academic rigor over programs it views as ideological. Under Secretary Nicholas Kent framed the effort as a broad overhaul and said new recognition pathways for accreditors will be opened. The change follows an executive‑level campaign to curtail DEI and shift federal oversight toward measurable student outcomes. The Department flagged the Commission for Public Higher Education — an accreditor backed by Florida officials — as one possible disruptor to the current recognition system. Jonathan Helwink, a former Education Department counsel, said the moves could rewrite compliance expectations and create new routes for alternative accreditors. NACIQI (the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity) advises the Education Department on which accrediting bodies deserve federal recognition. Any shifts in NACIQI policy will reverberate through institutional compliance, financial aid eligibility and the accreditation marketplace as colleges face new scrutiny on metrics and ideological neutrality.