Art Deco style letters spell out “chemistry” on the front of a two-story brick building, Montgomery Hall, that houses the chemistry department at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Montgomery Hall, the chemistry department building, at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, pictured, on May 15, 2025. (Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator) Louisiana will join six other university systems in the South to form a new alternative accrediting body, spurning longestablished standards of higher education, Gov. Jeff Landry announced with an executive order Tuesday.
In June, state university systems in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas launched the Commission for Public Higher Education. It is seeking expedited approval from the U.S. Department of Education to act as an accreditor, which is tasked with maintaining quality standards for colleges and universities.
