The University of Tennessee System is among six public universities that have partnered together to form a new accreditation body, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced Thursday.
The Commission for Public Higher Education (CPHE), according to a release from DeSantis’ office, is a new accreditor that will “offer an alternative that will break the ideological stronghold” by focusing on “student outcomes, process efficiency, and the pursuit of excellence for public postsecondary education.”
The State University System of Florida is joining five other systems across the nation to create the Commission for Public Higher Education, a new accreditation model focused on academic excellence, student outcomes and institutional quality.
Learn more at… pic.twitter.com/svt22PPvFR— State University System of Florida (@SUS_Florida) June 26, 2025
CPHE’s mission is to “advance the quality and improvement of higher education by accrediting and pre-accrediting state public colleges and universities that are incorporated, chartered, licensed or authorized in the United States.”
In addition to the University of Tennessee System, the five other public universities that have committed to the new Commission include the State University System of Florida, University System of Georgia, University of North Carolina System, University of South Carolina, and Texas A&M University System.
CPHE must be approved by the U.S. Department of Education by meeting certain requirements to be recognized as an active accreditor.
During an event announcing the new Commission, DeSantis said leaders of CPHE have been working with the federal education department under the Trump administration to receive expedited federal approval for the new accreditation model to undergo a “trial run” that will attract more states to join.
“I think [the Department of Education) wants to be quick on this,” DeSantis said. “We need these things approved and implemented during President Trump’s term of office, because the reality is, if it doesn’t get approved and stick during that time, you can have a president come in next and potentially revoke it, and they could probably do that very quickly.”
“Obviously, we didn’t really have the prospects of launching anything like this successfully during the Biden years, but it’s a new day and I think this is going to make a big, big difference,” he added.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti congratulated the University of Tennessee System and its president, Randy Boyd (pictured above), on the university’s decision to join CPHE.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Randy Boyd” by Tennessee University System.
It’s intriguing to see universities like the University of Tennessee System coming together to form CPHE.
If Randy Boyd is attached to it you better hold onto your wallet.