The New England Commission of Higher Education is proposing new standards that would strip away any mention of “diversity,” “equity” or “inclusion.” The words currently appear five times in the accreditor’s standards. 

The accreditor released its draft standards last month; they rolled back a requirement that a college “addresses its own goals for the achievement of diversity, equity, and inclusion among its students and provides a safe environment that fosters the intellectual and personal development of its students.” Instead, colleges will need to show they regularly identify the needs of students and employ “strategies for having all students feel welcomed, supported, included in the community,” according to The Chronicle of Higher Education, which first reported on the change.

NECHE oversees Harvard University and other institutions in the Northeast as well as some military academies.

President Trump, who has cracked down on all things related to DEI since taking office, directed accreditors in an April executive order to end any DEI requirement for colleges. Before and after that order, accreditors have either suspended or removed DEI-related standards. But some accreditors pushed back on the order, arguing that the administration’s conclusions about their approach to DEI are sweeping and untrue.

Lawrence Schall, the president of NECHE, said that change stemmed in part from concerns among NECHE universities that any suggestion of a DEI requirement could put them in an untenable position with the federal government.

The draft standards are open for review and public comment until Oct. 15, and the accreditor’s member universities will vote on the proposal in December. If approved, they’ll take effect July 1 of next year.