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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>It seems a little early to give up on universities. Maybe when it gets to 50%, pack it in?<br><br><a href="https://agi.safe.ai/">https://agi.safe.ai/</a><br><br><img border=0 width=327 height=315 style='width:3.4062in;height:3.2812in' id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.png@01DBAB90.386ADF50"><br><br><o:p></o:p></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'> Friam <friam-bounces@redfish.com> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Prof David West<br><b>Sent:</b> Saturday, April 12, 2025 9:39 AM<br><b>To:</b> Tom Johnson <jtjohnson555@gmail.com>; The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <friam@redfish.com>; Steve Ross <editorsteve@gmail.com>; Prof. Jim Brown <jwbrown@iu.edu>; Chris Feola <christopherjfeola@gmail.com>; George Duncan <gtduncan@gmail.com><br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [FRIAM] ‘A huge cudgel’: alarm as Trump’s war on universities could target accreditors | US universities | The Guardian<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>As a retired university professor who participated in six different accreditation reviews (and led two), I have some pretty strong, and vehemently negative, opinions of accrediting agencies. This was before they mandated standards, policies, and procedures for DEI—Trump's target. Like HOAs, Accreditors have absolute power to set arbitrary (or worse, faddish) standards that have nothing to do with quality of educators or education. Compliance requires the addition of administrative staff, exacerbating the imbalance between admin and faculty. A compliance visit is hugely expensive, from $100,000 to $500,000 per visit—every four years, and that is just what you have to pay the accreditors. It does not include the time for faculty and staff to gather data and prepare reports; effort that had no value other than to "check a box."<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>I do not agree with the motives for attacking accreditors, and will admit that there might be a tiny baby in an ocean of bathwater, but I will not mourn their demise.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>davew<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>On Sat, Apr 12, 2025, at 10:44 AM, Tom Johnson wrote:<o:p></o:p></p></div><blockquote style='margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt' id=qt><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/11/trump-war-on-universities">https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/11/trump-war-on-universities</a><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal>=======================<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Tom Johnson<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Inst. for Analytic Journalism<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Santa Fe, New Mexico<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>505-577-6482<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>=======================<o:p></o:p></p></div></div></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>.- .-.. .-.. / ..-. --- --- - . .-. ... / .- .-. . / .-- .-. --- -. --. / ... --- -- . / .- .-. . / ..- ... . ..-. ..- .-..<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Fridays 9a-12p Friday St. Johns Cafe / Thursdays 9a-12p Zoom <a href="https://bit.ly/virtualfriam">https://bit.ly/virtualfriam</a><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>to (un)subscribe <a href="http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com">http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com</a><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>FRIAM-COMIC <a href="http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/">http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/</a><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>archives: 5/2017 thru present <a href="https://redfish.com/pipermail/friam_redfish.com/">https://redfish.com/pipermail/friam_redfish.com/</a><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal> 1/2003 thru 6/2021 <a href="http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/">http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/</a><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></blockquote><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></div></body></html>