By Victoria Manning | Restoration News
Agencies responsible for approving accreditation of America’s five military service academies are pushing woke agendas rather than merit-based requirements.
These agencies weave DEI into the fabric of accreditation standards, a harmful influence over the nation’s military education institutions.
College accrediting agencies are “private educational associations that develop evaluation criteria and conduct peer evaluations to assess whether or not those criteria are met.” The U.S. Secretary of Education has the regulatory authority to approve the recognition of these accrediting agencies.
The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) accredits the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Military Academy, and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.
MSCHE has five principles that guide their accreditation standards. One of those is a “reflection on diversity, equity, and inclusion.” Their website says:
“Throughout the seven standards, institutions should reflect deeply and share results on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the context of their mission by considering at a minimum: goals and actions (Standard I); demographics and policies or processes (Standard II and VII); curriculum and services (Standard III and IV); assessments (Standard V); and resource allocation (Standard VI). One goal of DEI reflection would be to address disparate impacts on an increasingly diverse student population if discovered.”
MSCHE’s “Standard II” emphasizes employment practices that include “appropriate attention to diversity.” Diversity and race-based practices appear throughout the accreditation standards—a potential violation of non-discrimination laws.
COVID lockdowns delayed an oversight visit by MSCHE to the U.S. Military Academy (USMA) until 2023, but they did receive re-accreditation in 2021. Paperwork submitted to MSCHE by the USMA for 2022-23 indicates that race was considered as a factor in student admissions.
The U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy received re-accreditation from MSCHE in 2025. The USNA accreditation report notes that MSCHE requested follow-up information by March 2, 2026, on their governance structure to outline accountability measures for “inclusive decision making.”
In 2019, the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) re-accredited the U.S. Air Force Academy. The HLC emphasizes the need for its accredited organizations to “ensure that the overall composition of its faculty and staff reflects human diversity,” and that the school’s “processes and activities demonstrate inclusive and equitable treatment of diverse populations.”
The New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) gave the U.S. Coast Guard Academy full continued accreditation in 2021. The NECHE emphasizes the need for schools to meet diversity goals for both student admissions and staff hiring.
These accrediting organizations clearly push DEI narratives over merit in America’s military academic institutions. We detail more DEI concerns in the military and service academies at our new site: RestoreTheMilitary.com.
New Oversight is Necessary
In May 2025, the Defense Department directed all service academies to certify they no longer use race- or gender-based admissions practices. These accrediting agencies and their requirements conflict with these directives.
The Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness is responsible for oversight of USNA, USMA, and USAFA. President Trump’s nominee for this position, along with many others, still hasn’t received a vote by Congress. Retired Brigadier General Anthony Tata is the candidate for this key position. Once approved, he should take swift action to overhaul the service academy accreditation process.
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy provides oversight for the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, while Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem, oversee the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
It’s imperative that agency heads re-evaluate accreditation standards for America’s military academies to guarantee merit-based admissions and hiring—not woke social justice agendas.
Furthermore, institutions receiving funding from military benefits such as the GI Bill should receive extra scrutiny. If colleges push narratives that compromise America’s founding principle that “all men are created equal” they should not receive taxpayer dollars.
Over the last several decades, far-left extremists have overtaken America’s educational institutions in many ways, including through accreditation organizations that push racist diversity agendas.
The Trump administration can unravel these schemes by directing the Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to remove the recognition of these accrediting agencies.
Those responsible for service academy oversight can also prohibit these organizations from influencing America’s military academies by selecting unbiased, merit-based accrediting organizations.
The Trump administration has vowed to remove leftist ideology and indoctrination from America’s education system.
This focus should take top priority at the military institutions we entrust with training our next generation of warfighters.
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Victoria Manning is a Senior Investigative Researcher for Restoration News specializing in education freedom, immigration, and military issues. She is the author of Behind the Wall of Government Schools. Victoria served 8 years as an elected school board member and has a master’s degree in law. She also brings the perspective of a military spouse and mother to her reporting.
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