Did an accreditation council eliminate the American Bar Association today?

The National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) met today, and will meet tomorrow.

For those who are not super-nerds about policies in higher education, this highly underreported biannual meeting is also highly consequential. Members of NACIQI decide which universities and programs get funding from the federal government. More specifically, they approve or deny accrediting agencies’ “request for recognition”. These agencies accredit universities and colleges, giving them access to Title IV funding. Today NACIQI reviewed the American Bar Association’s (ABA) accrediting body.

This agency, casually titled the “council,” and officially titled the Council of the American Bar Association Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, accredits 198 law schools. NACIQI’s review was largely scathing. Ultimately, and to no surprise, the committee decided to keep the council’s recognition with a few caveats for tomorrow.