The Council on Chiropractic Education, the Midwifery Education Accreditation Council, and the Council on Education for Public Health voluntarily withdrew their petitions for continued federal recognition during a National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity meeting.

Education Under Secretary Nicholas Kent announced the withdrawals during his opening statement. He stated that the accreditors withdrew to avoid new regulations regarding student outcomes and board composition.

"The message is unmistakable. Accreditors know they are being held to a higher standard under the Trump administration, and some are either unwilling or unable to meet it," Kent said. "If an accreditor is unwilling to acknowledge the need for change, refuses to accept the priority we are placing on quality and outcomes, or simply cannot meet the higher standards expected of a federally recognized accreditor, then it should step aside."

Laura Rasar King, executive director of the Council on Education for Public Health, stated that Kent’s characterizations of the withdrawal were inaccurate. "None of his characterizations were accurate to us, King said. She described the recognition process as increasingly political across multiple administrations."

I have been in this position for 20 years and have led four rounds of recognition for my agency. The recognition process has become increasingly political, not just in the current administration but in past administrations as well," King said."

The Midwifery Education Accreditation Council stated in a public statement that shifting federal priorities made the timeline and standards for recognition difficult to predict. The council described withdrawal as the more responsible course for its member schools and students.

"Withdrawal was the more responsible course for our member schools and their students," the statement read. It clarified that the move was not a denial of recognition nor the end of the council’s relationship with the Department of Education. "[It] is not denial, nor is it the end of MEAC’s relationship with the Department of Education. It preserves MEAC’s ability to reapply and puts MEAC in control of its own timeline. We plan to reapply to the USDE from a position of strength," the statement said.

Only the Midwifery Education Accreditation Council serves as a Title IV gatekeeper among the three withdrawing accreditors. The council evaluates aid eligibility for two of its 11 member institutions. Institutions at risk of losing access to federal student aid have a window to seek accreditation elsewhere.

Paul Gaston, an emeritus Trustees Professor at Kent State University, described Kent’s comments as a presumption that he understands the reasons for the accreditors' decisions. "At one point Kent says, ‘The message is unmistakable,’ when in fact the message is really quite complex. To dismiss all variables accreditors may be considering as simply irrelevant, to promote the larger message that the [Trump administration’s] accreditation policies are working, seems to be a leap of faith that may not be justified," Gaston said. The National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity is scheduled to hold another meeting.