Two items this week framed governance’s role in accreditation. The Association of Governing Boards released a toolkit aimed at helping trustees understand and use accreditation effectively, providing practical guidance on oversight, reporting and student‑success metrics. The toolkit is pitched as a resource to align board priorities with quality‑assurance duties. At the same time, CHEA president Nasser Paydar published an op‑ed arguing that overhauling accreditation alone will not solve higher education’s deeper funding and workforce problems. Paydar warned against politicizing accreditation or narrowing it solely to workforce metrics, and urged balanced reforms that preserve accreditation independence while improving transparency and reducing administrative burden. Trustees, presidents and accrediting agencies will need to coordinate: boards must strengthen oversight capabilities without substituting political remedies for long‑term fiscal and policy solutions.