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:
- Accrediting organizations have developed standards by which an institution and program is reviewed for quality.
- An institution or program undertakes a self analysis or "self study" based on the standards of the accrediting organization
- Peers or colleagues in higher education (along with representatives of the public) review the self study, make a visit to an institution or program to test sites veracity and make a recommendation to the accrediting organization about the accredited status of the institution or program.
- The accrediting organization, through its commission or decision making body (also comprised of peers and the public), acts on the recommendation and makes a judgment about whether an institution or program has met the accreditation standards. This process must be repeated anywhere from every three to ten years for an institution or program to retain its accreditation.
WHY IS ACCREDITATION SO IMPORTANT?
Whether a college, university, or program is accredited is important to students and the public because:
- Students who want federal (and sometimes state) grants and loans need to attend a college, university or program that is accredited.
- Employers ask if a college, university or program is accredited when deciding to provide tuition assistance to current employees, evaluating the credentials of new employees, or making a charitable contribution.
- The federal government requires that a college, university or program be accredited in order to be eligible for federal grants and loans or other federal funds that can ultimately have an impact on students and the public e.g., research.
- State governments requires that a college, university or program be accredited when they make state funds available to institutions and when they allow students to sit for state licensure examinations in some professional fields.
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.