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Accreditation



Council of Higher Education Accreditation Frequently Asked Questions

CHEA is the Council of Higher Education Accreditation, www.chea.org.
The following information was obtained from the CHEA Information Manual.*

WHAT IS ACCREDITATION?
"Accreditation" is review of the quality of higher education institutions and programs. In the United States, accreditation is a major way that students, families, government officials, and the press know that an institution or program provides a quality education.

WHAT IS ACCREDITED?
Colleges, universities, and programs are accredited. In the U.S., colleges and universities are accredited by one of the 19 recognized institutional accrediting organizations. Programs are accredited by one of approximately 60 recognized programmatic accrediting organizations. Accrediting organizations that are "recognized" have been reviewed for quality by a private organization, the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), or through the federal government by the United States Department of Education (USDE).

HOW DOES ACCREDITATION WORK?
Accreditation is a system of self-regulation that generally involves these key steps:
WHY IS ACCREDITATION SO IMPORTANT?
Whether a college, university, or program is accredited is important to students and the public because:

WHO ARE THE ACCREDITORS?
In the U.S., the accreditors are private, nongovernmental organizations created for the specific purpose of reviewing higher education institutions and programs for quality. To find a list of all recognized accreditors in the U.S., please go to the CHEA website at www.chea.org and click on "Institutional Database."


*2004 CHEA, All Rights Reserved.
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