The U.S. Department of Education reached consensus on sweeping accreditation reforms through negotiated rulemaking, setting up changes that could alter how colleges and universities qualify for and maintain federal student aid. The overhaul shifts accreditors’ focus toward hard outcomes such as graduation rates, licensure results, post-graduation employment, and measurable economic returns. The framework also targets conflicts of interest and transparency gaps, including prohibiting accreditor relationships that share personnel, equipment, or infrastructure with affiliated trade organizations without public disclosure. In a major structural change, the reforms remove a two-year “wait” requirement for new accrediting agencies, potentially opening the market to faster entrants. The reforms also address transfer credit and academic freedom, reflecting a direct link to student mobility outcomes. Higher education leaders will be watching for how accreditors redesign evaluation models and how institutions prepare evidence packages under the new standards.