BATON ROUGE — Louisiana’s newly formed Higher Education Task Force met for the first time Tuesday, beginning work on what could be a major shift in how the state’s universities and colleges are accredited.

Governor Jeff Landry created the task force last month through an executive order, directing members to explore alternatives to the state’s current accreditation system. 

State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley, who is chairing the group, said the effort is about making sure Louisiana students are best served.

“We want to make sure that accreditors that are overseeing or overviewing schools in Louisiana colleges and universities are aligned to Louisiana values,” Brumley said.

The 13-member panel includes leaders from Louisiana’s four public university systems, legislative education chairs, and Commissioner of Higher Education Dr. Kim Hunter Reed. They are tasked with evaluating whether joining a new multi-state accreditor or creating a dual system could produce stronger results for students.

Brumley noted that the discussion has gained momentum nationally.

“President Trump signed an Executive Order to explore new accreditors for colleges and universities. Governor Landry signed an executive order to make that same exploration so we're here today, gathered as a task force to look at how we can get better outcomes,” he said.

He added that the group will be looking critically at whether current accrediting bodies are delivering for students.

“What's happening in Louisiana and across the country is we're beginning to look and explore, are those accreditors doing a good job? Are there better accreditors that could help us get better outcomes for students who graduate in the state of Louisiana?” Brumley said.

The task force will meet again on Sept. 30th.