NECHE 2026 Draft Accreditation Standards Drop Libraries
For decades, the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) has played a pivotal role in shaping how colleges and universities in the region define academic quality, student success, governance, and resource priorities.
Accreditation standards not only assess institutional effectiveness but also establish expectations for what campuses must support to fulfill their educational missions. Historically, this has included libraries, library staff, and information literacy as essential components of institutional quality.
However, this could be about to change for New England institutions of higher education. The Draft 2026 Accreditation Standards being circulated by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) proposes to eliminate all references to libraries, librarians, and library services. These terms are central to the current (2021) standards. This omission signals a significant shift in how accreditation defines institutional quality and threatens the visibility, funding, and strategic role of campus libraries across the region.
Additionally, the draft removes all references to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), replacing them with vague language about students “feeling welcomed.” These changes come in response to direct federal pressure. An April 2025 executive order from the Trump administration warned accreditors that they could lose federal recognition if they continued to include DEI-related requirements, forcing them to choose between compliance and adhering to long-standing best practices. NECHE leaders have acknowledged that these changes directly respond to that pressure.
The stakes are high. Accreditation influences everything from institutional funding to student aid eligibility. If adopted, the 2026 standards, which take effect in June 2026, would fundamentally reshape how colleges are evaluated, weakening commitments to libraries, research support, academic freedom, and inclusive campus environments.
The EveryLibrary Institute has prepared a report comparing the 2021 and 2026 NECHE standards and offering guidance to consortia and systems on ways to make effective public comment. The public comment period on the draft NECHE 2026 standards is open until October 15, 2025. Academic library consortia, systems, state associations, and higher education leaders must voice their concerns now. Without strong feedback, libraries and DEI could be removed from the accreditation framework, and once they are gone, regaining that ground will be much more challenging.
Please download your copy of "At the Risk of Disappearing: A Comparative Analysis of the 2021 New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) Institutional Accreditation Standards and its Draft 2026 Standards for Institutional Accreditation". Please note that this version, dated October 6, 2025, supersedes a draft that was circulated on September 30, 2025.