Today, five independent colleges from across the country announced they have joined the National Association for Academic Excellence, Inc. (NAAE) as its founding members, helping to build a non-region-based, selective model of institutional accreditation focused on academic rigor, creating value for students, and expanding choice in accreditation.
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Today, five independent colleges from across the country announced they have joined the National Association for Academic Excellence, Inc. (NAAE) as its founding members, helping to build a non-region-based, selective model of institutional accreditation focused on academic rigor, creating value for students, and expanding choice in accreditation.
The founding institutions are Merrimack College in Massachusetts, Benedictine College in Kansas, the University of Mount Saint Vincent in New York, Bellevue University in Nebraska and Houston Christian University in Texas.
"We are exceptionally pleased that these distinguished institutions have demonstrated their confidence in the mission and vision of the National Association for Academic Excellence by joining us as founding members. Their commitment reflects a shared belief that accreditation can and should do more to advance academic excellence, protect institutional independence, and strengthen accountability to students and the public. These institutions bring a tradition of academic quality, principled leadership, and a willingness to help shape the future of higher education. We are honored to have them as partners in building a new model of accreditation," said Dr. Rob Manzer, president and CEO of NAAE.
These founding members will hold seats on NAAE's Board of Directors and its Commission on Accreditation, the decision-making authority over accreditation decisions. Among their responsibilities, founding members will help refine standards, procedures, training, technology, evidence requirements, and terminology.
NAAE is designed specifically for independent colleges and universities. Its standards emphasize demonstrable student achievement, educational value, formation of the whole person, and integrated institutional accountability while respecting each institution's autonomy to define and pursue its distinctive mission as it meets the changing needs of students and society.
"Independent colleges and universities are among higher education's most effective at supporting a wide range of students, yet they rarely participate in the governance of the accreditors that oversee them and are often overshadowed within those organizations by much larger public or highly selective universities," Dr. Manzer continued. "This accreditor is built specifically for institutions like these, giving them a direct hand in shaping standards designed around how they actually operate, and this narrowed focus will support a more conscientious review of institutional and academic quality."
For most of the last century, the majority of American colleges and universities have been accredited by one of a handful of regional accreditors charged with evaluating a wide variety of institutions across a geographic footprint from large public research institutions to two-year community colleges. Serving that range of institutions made it difficult to consistently apply standards and uphold academic rigor. In NAAE's view, moving from a territory-focused model to a sector-specific model forms the cornerstone of a more coherent and exacting approach to academic excellence.
Federal regulations that took effect in 2020 ended the monopoly of six accreditors over their respective regions in order to create competition and choice among accreditors for the first time. These regulations also supported the formation of new accreditors to ensure a greater variety of approaches to accreditation. Building on those reforms, these founding institutions are helping to develop a demanding accreditation model designed around the distinctive missions, governance structures, and student populations of independent colleges and universities.
NAAE's Founding Members expressed the importance of their association with a new accrediting body to advance the quality of higher education for the long term:
University of Mount Saint Vincent President Susan Burns: "NAAE will ask whether we are truly meeting learners when, where and how they need us. Independent colleges and universities serve wonderfully diverse students in wonderfully diverse ways. We are helping to build an accreditor that will uphold academic excellence, recognize the value of different approaches and keep student success at the center of the process."
Bellevue University President Mary Hawkins: "At Bellevue University, success means access to a quality education that helps learners build better lives. Regardless of their circumstances, students deserve learning that is relevant, affordable and aligned with the needs of today's workforce. We are helping build an accreditation model that maintains high standards while giving institutions the flexibility to innovate, respond to employers and create greater value for students."
Merrimack College President Christopher E. Hopey, Ph.D.: "Why should accreditation remain bound to the regional model of the past? That sixty-year regionalized model was adopted to accommodate an extraordinarily broad range of institutions, from community colleges to large public universities and highly selective private institutions. Inevitably, that breadth produced standards over the past sixty years generalized enough to accommodate nearly every type of college and university—a one-size-fits-all approach within a geographic region of the United States. We are now seeking something more focused: an accreditation model that recognizes our mission, holds us to rigorous and meaningful standards, and gives us the freedom to pursue a more distinctive vision of academic excellence with like institutions. Higher education needs room to innovate, and students, families and employers deserve clear, specific, and meaningful standards for learning, achievement, and student success. We have an opportunity to embrace an accreditation model that strengthens accountability while also advancing the larger purpose of higher education: educating and forming the whole human person while supporting academic excellence, religious freedom, freedom of expression, rigorous scholarship and research aimed at bettering society and humankind".
Benedictine College President Stephen Minnis: "Independent colleges and universities make their greatest contribution when they are free to follow their missions in an unimpeded manner. We are excited to help build an accreditor that will demand the highest standards of academic excellence while allowing faith-based institutions to form students in accordance with their faith traditions."
Houston Christian University Acting President Sandy Mooney: "My experience on both sides of accreditation has shown me the importance of rigorous peer review and clear standards. It has also shown me how quickly documentation can become the focus instead of meaningful institutional improvement. An effective accreditor must understand the missions of independent colleges and universities, evaluate the outcomes that truly matter and help institutions strengthen the education they provide."
NAAE will seek formal recognition from the U.S. Department of Education. Until that process is complete, the five founding institutions will remain accredited by their current federally recognized accrediting agencies.
To learn more about NAAE and its founding institutions, visit www.naaeinc.org or contact [email protected].
Media Contact
Daniel Sessions, NAAE Inc., 1 502.638.2447, [email protected], https://naaeinc.org
SOURCE NAAE Inc.
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