Washington D.C., Aug 4, 2010 / 04:12 am
New substantive regulations on higher education could restrict the freedom of private colleges and universities and result in further “politicization,” a former U.S. Senator has said. An official with a Jesuit educational association similarly voiced concern about academic freedom, saying the new rules are “far-reaching and unnecessary.”
Bill Armstrong, former Republican Senator from Colorado and current president of Colorado Christian University (CCU), sent a July 30 letter to the Department of Education regarding new federal regulations for higher education.
The proposed rules are the result of the department’s effort to curtail fraud and abuse and to ensure federal funds are well-spent in federal student aid programs.
Armstrong warned that the proposed regulations would undermine the authority of regional accreditation bodies and would open both public and private schools to “substantive” regulation by state governments. In his reading of the rules, individual states would have to establish “guidelines, standards and requirements” for such institutions.