President Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order targeting college accreditors, a group of largely unknown but long-established companies that evaluate the educational quality and financial health of universities.
The order, one of seven education-related measures he signed on Wednesday, was the latest move by Mr. Trump aimed at shifting the ideological tilt of the higher education system, which he views as hostile to conservatives. His administration has escalated its fight with elite universities in recent weeks, demanding significant changes to hiring, admissions and curriculum practices. At least one, Harvard, has chosen to fight back, setting up a billion-dollar battle for academic independence.
A passing grade from accreditation companies, some of which have existed for more than a century, is crucial for colleges to gain access to $120 billion in federal financial aid approved each year. But Mr. Trump has blamed these businesses for promoting the kind of diversity, equity and inclusion policies that his administration has made a priority to stamp out.
During his last presidential campaign, Mr. Trump did not speak often about accreditors, which have long been a target of conservative Republicans. But when he did, he reserved some of his most biting attacks for them. In a policy video he posted in the summer of 2023, he vowed to take aim at “radical left accreditors that have allowed our colleges to become dominated by Marxist maniacs and lunatics.”
Mr. Trump’s order would make it easier for schools to switch accreditors and for new accreditors to gain federal approval, according to the White House, which provided fact sheets about the measures. The text of the orders was not immediately available.
Bob Shireman, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, a liberal think tank that studies college accreditation policy, among other things, said that Mr. Trump’s order would undermine institutional independence, which, he said, “has helped our universities to be the best in the world.”
“The federal government has long stayed away from any involvement in a college’s curriculum or hiring, and current law prohibits this kind of intrusion into academic affairs,” Mr. Shireman said, adding that the executive order “steps far across this line.”
Linda McMahon, the education secretary, said the current accreditation system contributed to rising tuition costs and “pushes universities in ideological directions.”
“The Department of Education will create a competitive marketplace of higher education accreditors, which will give colleges and universities incentives and support to focus on lowering college costs, fostering innovation and delivering a high-quality postsecondary education,” she said in a statement.
The Trump administration has cast its campaign against elite institutions as a fight against antisemitism, along with an effort to root out diversity initiatives. Critics have said the push is more of an attempt to impose Mr. Trump’s political agenda on the nation’s schools.
Still, the president’s crusade against diversity programs has already affected accrediting bodies. Last month, the American Psychological Association, which sets standards for professional training in mental health, voted to suspend its requirement that postgraduate programs show a commitment to diversity in recruitment and hiring.
Mr. Trump also signed executive orders to encourage the use of artificial intelligence in schools, promote private-sector partnerships with historically Black colleges and universities, and increase the number of apprenticeships in skilled trade jobs. Another order instructed his administration to make it more difficult for universities to obscure details of foreign funding.
Two other orders focused on student discipline, which has been a political flashpoint for the past decade.
One order was to ensure that disciplinary policies were not based on D.E.I. policies. Another restricts the use of the so-called disparate impact rule, which civil rights groups have long said is an important tool for showing discrimination against minorities.
Tough disciplinary tactics, like suspensions, can help teachers manage classrooms by removing disruptive students. But they can also hurt students who are already struggling by forcing them to miss crucial lessons. Black students have historically been disciplined more harshly than white students, an issue that has been crucial to progressive education activists and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Under President Barack Obama, school districts were told that if certain groups of students were disciplined more often than other groups, it could be considered a violation of federal civil rights law. Mr. Trump rescinded that order during his first term, but it was reinstated under President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Mr. Trump’s order calls for new federal guidance on discipline in local schools.
Dana Goldstein contributed reporting.