The National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) convened under the Trump administration amid partisan tension over accreditation policy but did not deliver sweeping changes. The committee probed issues like student access, return-on-investment metrics and the rise of new accrediting initiatives while ultimately renewing recognition for major accreditors. The session reflected a broader administrative push to loosen barriers for new accreditors and to challenge legacy accrediting structures seen by some policymakers as ideologically burdensome. Investigations and internal emails cited by policy observers suggest a coordinated effort to reshape quality assurance in higher education. For trustees and institutional leaders, the meeting signaled an era of heightened federal interest in accreditation, increased regulatory scrutiny and potential shifts in the marketplace for accreditors—moves that could affect program approvals, federal aid access and institutional strategy.