Improving State Authorization: The State Role in Ensuring Quality and Consumer Protection in Higher Education

A renewed level of interest in and scrutiny of public accountability of higher education has recently been fueled by a wave of institutional closures; the proliferation of distance education providers and programs; changes in education technology; questions regarding quality, student learning, and the effectiveness of institutional accreditation; and efforts to spur innovation and create on-ramps for new and different education providers. While much of the attention has focused on the role of accreditors and the federal government, the central actors in the higher education public accountability space are the states.

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