The Education Department moved this month to remake the federal advisory panel that oversees accreditation, signaling a wholesale shift in how colleges are judged. At a Dec. 16 NACIQI meeting Under Secretary Nicholas Kent criticized accreditors for enabling “divisive ideology,” backed a chair pick aligned with conservative policy circles, and outlined plans to prioritize graduation rates, earnings and debt reduction. Kent and the department have signaled they will open recognition pathways to new accreditors and push measures that tie institutional validation to post‑college outcomes. NACIQI’s reconstitution follows an executive order earlier in the year and comes as the department seeks more direct levers to shape compliance and program approval. The move places accreditation—the primary gatekeeper for federal aid and institutional legitimacy—squarely in the political center of the administration’s higher‑education agenda. Colleges, accreditors and legal scholars say changes to recognition criteria could reshape quality assurance, eligibility for federal funds and program innovation, especially for institutions that rely heavily on federal student aid.