Nicholas Kent, the Education Department’s under secretary for higher education, outlined plans to overhaul U.S. accreditation with an emphasis on student outcomes, lower costs and more competition among accreditors. Kent said the department will pursue negotiated rulemaking this spring to speed approval of new accreditors, impose stronger outcome‑based accountability and reduce administrative burdens that he says leave taxpayers and students exposed. Kent tied accreditation reform to broader concerns about public confidence in higher education and suggested deregulation-style steps—such as streamlined approval for alternative quality‑assurance providers—could spur innovation and lower costs. Accreditation determines access to Pell and federal student loans, so changes would reshape how colleges demonstrate quality to receive federal aid. Accreditation stakeholders cautioned that large shifts could unsettle institutional finances and raised questions about preserving academic standards. The proposal sets a policy fight in motion between the department, accreditors, colleges and Congress over how to balance accountability, institutional autonomy and student protections.