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A federal grant to URochester and the Inclusive Higher Education Accreditation Council advances quality, transparency, and workforce outcomes nationwide.

(Initially published January 15 2026, on the )

The ’s Warner School of Education & Human Development has been awarded a $1 million grant from the US Department of Education to advance accreditation and quality assurance for postsecondary certificate programs serving students with intellectual disability. The four-year grant supports a national partnership between the Warner School’s and the (IHEAC), a newly established accrediting agency for college and university programs serving this population.

The new project, “Advancing Workforce Outcomes through Postsecondary Program Accreditation,” responds to a US Department of Education priority focused on encouraging accreditation reform through the creation of new accrediting agencies. Through this work, URochester will provide strategic leadership and infrastructure to support IHEAC’s development and pursuit of national recognition as the only accrediting body dedicated exclusively to inclusive postsecondary certificate programs for students with intellectual disability.

Creating a national framework for quality and accountability

Launched in 2023 in partnership with the Warner School’s Center for Disability and Education and the National Coordinating Center at the University of Massachusetts–Boston, IHEAC focuses on strengthening program quality, transparency, and employment outcomes for students with intellectual disability. The Center for Disability and Education played a pivotal role in implementing the IHEAC accreditation process under the leadership of Martha Mock, professor and director of the center, who serves as principal investigator on the grant. Mary Judge-Diegert, assistant professor and associate director of the center, serves as co-principal investigator.

While more than 350 higher education programs currently serve over 7,000 students with intellectual disability nationwide, only four programs are accredited, and just one has received pre-accreditation candidacy status through IHEAC. The new funding will support efforts to scale IHEAC’s accreditation capacity to meet this significant national need.

“Students and their families need clear, reliable information about program quality, student learning, and employment outcomes to make informed decisions,” says Mock. “Accreditation plays a critical role in ensuring accountability, consistency, and continuous improvement across these postsecondary programs.”

Over the next four years, the URochester-IHEAC partnership will advance accreditation efforts through the following actions:

• Recruit and train a national cadre of peer reviewers to conduct accreditation site visits.
• Provide professional learning cohorts for college programs pursuing accreditation.
• Conduct accreditation reviews at a minimum of six higher education certification programs.
• Develop and disseminate targeted resources for students and families about accreditation.
• Collect feedback from programs to refine accreditation standards.
• Support IHEAC’s pursuit of national recognition through the US Department of Education and the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI).

Building on proven standards of success

The project builds on a successful collaboration between URochester and IHEAC that included the development of voluntary accreditation standards aligned with nationally recognized best practices and the completion of five pilot accreditation sites. Additional implementation sites supported by this grant will allow partners to refine standards, streamline review processes, and strengthen data systems to support accreditation and reporting.

Grant funding will support program accreditation implementation, peer reviewer training, travel to participating institutions, data management, evaluation, and the administrative infrastructure necessary to launch and sustain IHEAC as a nationally recognized accrediting agency.

Stephanie Smith Lee, IHEAC board president, says, “We are grateful to URochester for their partnership and for this grant that will make it possible to significantly expand the accreditation of inclusive postsecondary programs for students with intellectual disability, leading to program improvement and increased employment and community living for the students.”

The URochester-IHEAC partnership is funded by the US Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of , which supports innovative projects addressing urgent national needs in postsecondary education. These priorities will support four areas of national need, including: expanding the use of artificial intelligence, protecting and promoting civil discourse on college and university campuses, encouraging accreditation reform, and building capacity for high-quality short-term programs.