The U.S. Education Department formally requested public comment on overhauling the federal accreditation handbook, launching a review aimed at cutting “unduly burdensome” requirements and boosting transparency. Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education David Barker framed the move as part of a broader push to streamline accreditors and reduce administrative costs. The timing follows high‑profile accreditation wins and struggles on campuses. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges removed Guilford College from probation after trustees and administrators presented expense cuts, balanced budgets for FY2025 and early FY2026, and improved fundraising results. Guilford’s president cited rapid cost reductions and donor gains as evidence of financial stabilization. Taken together, the Education Department’s RFI and Guilford’s reinstatement signal stronger federal oversight combined with institutional pressure to demonstrate financial soundness. Accreditors, colleges and state regulators now face a compressed window to recommend changes that could alter oversight, reporting and the metrics used to judge institutional viability.