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Outcomes and Innovation
in Higher Education

A New Accreditor for a New Type of College

WHO WE ARE

The Postsecondary Commission wants to be a new type of accreditor for a new type of college.

We aspire to accredit colleges – both new and existing ones – that produce high rates of economic mobility for their students.

We believe that higher education accreditation can and should measure student outcomes, in particular ones related to earnings.

We also believe that, like all sectors, higher education can benefit from innovation.

And we know that the American public agrees.

THE ISSUE FACING US TODAY

College students, their families, and the public are clear in what they want from colleges. They want economic mobility, transparency, accountability, innovation, and better options.

87% of college graduates say they went to college to “qualify for good jobs”

93% of Americans believe that it is important for colleges to provide data on graduation rates and graduates’ employment rates

80% of taxpayers favor colleges losing public funding for low graduation rates

66% of the public believe “colleges are stuck in the past”

45% of parents with high school students say they “wish there were more postsecondary options”

Too few colleges deliver the financial outcomes that students want, or act with the transparency that the public demands. And the colleges that do, often go unrecognized. 

THE SOLUTION

The Postsecondary Commission is committed to a movement of innovative colleges – both new ones and current ones – that create economic mobility for students, are transparent with their outcomes, and are willing to be held accountable for their results.