Georgia universities join Florida-backed anti-DEI accreditation agency
Two Georgia public universities plan to work with a new accreditation body created by conservative-led states to challenge DEI-driven standards.
The two universities are Columbus State University and Georgia Southern University.
Columbus State University and Georgia Southern University will join Florida’s new anti-DEI accreditation agency, the Commission for Public Higher Education (CPHE).
Georgia was one of six original southern states to create the new agency in June under the leadership of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
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Now, the two Georgia universities in Columbus and Statesboro will serve as test cases for the agency, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Dec. 16. The two schools are currently accredited with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
CPHE officials identified both Columbus State and Georgia Southern as “natural candidates for simultaneous accrediting activity with CPHE,” due to their expiring relationships with the Southern Association. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained an email from CPHE official Cameron Howell in July mentioning the two schools as ideal for testing the new agency.
Accreditation agencies, which determine whether schools are eligible for federal funding, must operate for at least two years before receiving federal recognition.
Georgia Southern said it would be interested in joining the new agency in August, and Columbus State provided a letter of intent in September.
“As a commission uniquely created by and for public colleges and universities, CPHE understands the mission, challenges, and responsibilities of public higher education,” Columbus State President Stuart Rayfield said.
The southern states created the new agency to combat Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) principles in higher education and uphold academic diversity.
“Florida has set an example for the country in reclaiming higher education—and we’re working to make that success permanent,” DeSantis said in June. “That means breaking the activist-controlled accreditation monopoly.”
The CPHE will “offer an alternative that will break the ideological stronghold.”
The agency’s accreditation standards require “Academic Freedom and Intellectual Diversity.”
“The institution’s policies and practices support the intellectual diversity of its faculty and students in academic and co-curricular life,” according to CPHE accreditation standards.
Louisiana has signaled its intent to join the new agency. The six original states are Florida, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
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President Donald Trump signed an executive order in April, seeking to break up what the administration described as a monopoly within the accreditation system.
Specifically, the order accuses accreditation agencies of “requiring institutions seeking accreditation to engage in unlawful discrimination in accreditation-related activity under the guise of ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ initiatives.”
In a separate executive order from January, President Trump threatened loss of federal funding for universities that continue to promote DEI.
Campus Reform contacted Columbus State University and Georgia Southern University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
