The National Association of Scholars expressed its great pleasure at the decision of the U.S. Department of Education’s National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) to recommend that the department’s recognition of the American Academy for Liberal Education (AALE) be extended, and that the restriction on its ability to accredit additional institutions be revoked.
“NACIQI’s decision will bring a sigh of relief to friends of excellence in liberal education throughout the land, who had been concerned for the future of the Academy,” said NAS president Steve Balch. “In extending the AALE’s recognition and eliminating the hold on bringing new institutions into its fold, the committee has reaffirmed what is most genuinely important in higher education: a serious commitment to academic content. Throughout its history the AALE has embodied that commitment, serving as a rallying point for colleges unwilling to accept the lowest-common-denominator approach to curriculum and teaching so much in vogue elsewhere. With the regulatory shadow over its future removed, the AALE will be able to continue and expand upon this indispensable service.”
“The next step,” Dr. Balch went on, “is for the Secretary of Education to act positively upon NACIQI’s recommendation. We are very hopeful that this will be the case.”
