Accreditation

Excerpt: Accreditation (Education USA/U.S. Department of State)

Accreditation is the system of recognition and quality assurance for institutions and programs of higher education in the United States. When deciding on a program of study, one of your main concerns should be whether the program is properly accredited. There is no legal restriction on the use of the words "accredited," "accrediting body," or "accrediting association" in the United States. As a result, it is important that you check whether an institution and its programs hold accreditation from a "recognized" accrediting body or bodies. To be considered recognized, an accrediting body should meet one or both of the following criteria:

• It is a member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or the Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors (ASPA). To find out if it is, consult the organizations' Web sites.
• It is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. While the department does not get involved in the process of accrediting institutions, it offers extensive information on accreditation and an online database: Postsecondary Educational Institutions and Programs Accredited by Accrediting Agencies and State Approval Agencies Recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education.
  Recognition by the U.S. Department of Education or membership in CHEA or ASPA is an indicator of the reliability of an accrediting association.

Programmatic accrediting bodies accredit specialized and professional degree programs or departments rather than whole institutions. Very often, such programs or departments are offered, or are based, at institutions that already have institutional accreditation, so you can be assured of their legitimacy and general quality. A programmatic accrediting body is considered a "recognized" accrediting body if it is a member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or the Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors (ASPA). Membership in either CHEA or ASPA is an indicator of the reliability of a programmatic accrediting association. The U.S. Department of Education recognizes national and regional accrediting bodies only and does not get involved in programmatic accreditation.

Institutional accreditation can be divided into two types: regional accreditation and national accreditation. Regional accreditation is the primary type of institutional accreditation used in the United States. It is carried out by six organizations that cover different geographic regions of the country. The six regional accrediting bodies collectively serve more than 3,500 of the approximately 3,600 degree-granting institutions in the United States. They are:

• Accreditation (Education USA/U.S. Department of State)
• Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)
• Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors
• extensive information on accreditation
• Institutional accreditation system
• Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools - Commission on Higher Education (MSA/CHE)
• New England Association of Schools and Colleges - Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (NEASC-CIHE)
• North Central Association of Colleges and Schools - The Higher Learning Commission
• Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) - Commission on Colleges
• Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)