Yesterday evening, President Donald Trump signed seven executive orders (EOs) focused on education and the workforce. The orders specifically impacting community colleges address reforming accreditation and expanding Registered Apprenticeships. Additional topics include Artificial Intelligence in education, HBCUs, reporting of foreign gifts at colleges, disparate impact theory, and K12 discipline.
The order that could have the greatest impact on higher education is the one focused on accreditation, a topic that President Trump frequently referenced on the campaign trail. This executive order, titled Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education, forbids accreditors from implementing DEI standards in the accreditation process. It does not require immediate action from colleges; rather, institutions should consult with their accrediting body to determine any specific changes that may be necessary.
The accreditation EO states that it aims to make the accreditor-recognition process more effective through technology updates, and it instructs the Secretary of Education to open the accreditation field to new accrediting agencies. The order prioritizes options for institutions in selection of an accreditor, including establishing an experimental site to explore innovative ideas in accreditation and encouraging institutions to switch their respective accreditation agencies in favor of agencies that align with their institutional missions.
On the workforce front, community colleges will be particularly interested in the “Preparing Americans for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future” executive order, which calls for both a holistic review of all federal workforce programs and sets the goal to create one million new registered apprentices nationwide. The workforce program review would include the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act ($4.1 billion), the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act ($1.4 billion), and the National Apprenticeship Act ($285 million as of FY 24). For the federal Registered Apprenticeship program, President Trump aims to expand the model in an effort to “align with the country’s reindustrialization needs and equip American workers to fill the growing demand for skilled trades and other occupations.”
For a deeper dive on these executive orders, please see our latest post on NOW.ACCT.org. And to read a complete review of the Trump Administration executive orders impacting higher education, please see our post on orders summarizing the administration’s first three months.
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