ACTA - American Council of Trustees and Alumni

Is Columbia going to lose its accreditation?

The answer is neither "yes" nor "no". It's complicated, says ACTA's Kyle Beltramini. The accreditation is in no immediate threat, but the possibility is now on the table.

Read Kyle's in-depth analysis here:

Columbia’s Accreditation At Risk? A recent press release by the U.S. Department of Education has created a bit of confusion, leading many to believe that the Trump administration is seeking to revoke Columbia University’s accreditation. As with most matters related to the byzantine process of accreditation, the truth is more compl...

READ: Harvard's failings are too numerous to recount in a tweet. But the Trump administration's heavy-handed tactics threaten to destroy the good in Harvard and create precedent for future abuses of power.

ACTA President Michael Poliakoff's new piece in Law & Liberty:

Moral Failure and Government Intrusion at Harvard – Michael B. Poliakoff This is not how you fix the problems at Harvard.

Trump has threatened Columbia's accreditation. So what happens next?

The ball is in the accreditor's court. The administration can't unilaterally strip Columbia of its accreditations - instead the accreditor will investigate to determine if Columbia is violating the law.

But the administration has plenty of leverage over accreditors too.

Today is the 81st anniversary of the D-Day Landings.

We remember the thousands of Americans and other Allies who gave their lives that day to defeat fascism. But almost half of the US knows nothing of D-Day, not even the country where it happened.

Unless we want another generation to give their lives fighting destructive ideologies, we must restore our nation's historical literacy.

After the Trump administration canceled almost $900 million in contracts, IPEDS is in trouble. The database is crucial to anyone looking into university finance, from analysts to students.

Read ACTA data analyst Anna Sillers's article on the need to protect IPEDS:

When we lose the data, we lose accountability In 2017, the New York Times published a shocking finding: The City University of New York (CUNY) system pushed six times more low-income...

Serious concerns surround Santa Ono as the next president of the University of Florida. This decision is especially significant considering Ono's past as a leading DEI advocate and his recent about-face.

The State University System of Florida board of governors is still considering Ono's appointment, but he is the only candidate under consideration..

ACTA President Michael Poliakoff has issued an open letter warning the board:

ACTA Letter to State University System of Florida Board of Governors Today, ACTA sent a letter to the State University System of Florida Board of Governors urging the board to take great care in its consideration of Dr. Santa Ono's selection as the next president of the University of Florida.

Harvard and other elite universities ignored years of warnings that they were becoming ideological echo chambers. President Poliakoff urged them to course correct and restore intellectual diversity.

Now the Trump administration is striking back—cutting funds, capping visas, and publicly challenging academia’s elitism. While universities urgently need to reform, this response isn't reform - it's retribution.

SAUNDERS: Trump wants to make Harvard great again Trump wants to pull federal funds from Harvard. It’s easy to see why, but not necessarily the right move.

AI has quickly spread to every aspect of life. Even your book club is affected: why read a long dull book when you can get an AI to summarize it for you instead?

But ACTA's Rebecca Richards reminds us that shortcuts aren't inherently better. The hard work of reading and thinking for ourselves is worth it, even if an AI summary is more convenient.

AI Is Not a Teacher, Let Alone a Friend – Rebecca Richards AI has a place in our lives, but not in those experiences which make us human.

"There is always going to be disagreement. Compromise is at the heart of our American system of government."

ACTA's Dr. Bryan Paul explains how we can escape from the toxic cycle of negative partisanship by learning to Disagree Better.

By Disagreeing Better We Can Solve Problems Better, Too Dr. Paul Bryan, College Debates and Discourse Alliance Curricular Fellow at ACTA, shares a message about how engaging in healthy conflict enables us to work ...

ACTA's Nick Down was in North Carolina recently, arguing in favor of HB7. If passed, the bill would require UNC and community college students to take a course in US history or government in order to graduate. This is an essential step to reverse the alarming decline in civic knowledge:

National group backs NC REACH Act RALEIGH — A national group focused on academic freedom and excellence is backing a North Carolina House bill that would increase courses in American history and government. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) issued a formal letter to the chairs of the North Carolina House Committee

Dr. Santa Ono was the sole candidate tapped by the University of Florida search committee.

Trustees must not be a rubber stamp. Ono's qualifications are excellent, but his past actions and statements - especially his recently-renounced support for DEI - must be carefully weighed.

From Dr. Poliakoff's new op-ed in Real Clear Education:

University of Florida Trustees: The Whole World Is Watching The University of Florida must not make a mistake in hiring the president who will replace Ben Sasse. To do so could destroy one of the crown jewels of American higher education, a model of excellence