Accreditation Toolkit – Accrediting Organizations

This section contains information on U.S. higher education accreditation and recognition for accrediting and quality assurance organizations, including statistics on accreditation and its operation.

Topics addressed include accreditation and its operation, institutions and programs in the United States accredited by recognized accrediting organizations, accreditation and academic freedom and integrity, student achievement, accountability, distance education and transfer of credit.

Institutions and Programs in the United States Accredited by Recognized Accrediting Organizations

• Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) Database of Institutions and Programs Accredited by Recognized U.S. Accrediting Organizations

U.S. Accreditation and Recognition

• 2021 CHEA Recognition Policy and Procedures (2021)
• Directory of CHEA-Recognized Accrediting Organizations (html)
• Directory of CHEA-Recognized Accrediting Organizations (pdf)
• CHEA Recognition Decision Summaries
• CHEA Almanac Online 
• Accreditation and Recognition in the United States (2016)
• An Overview of U.S. Accreditation (November 2015)
• The Condition of Accreditation: U.S. Accreditation in 2013 (November 2015)

CHEA Videos

• Accreditation and Its Value to You (February 2011)
• Types of Accreditation: What’s the Difference? (February 2011)
• Degree Mills and Accreditation Mills (February 2011)
• The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (February 2011)

U.S. Law and Regulation on Accreditation

• The National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) Website
• National Recognition of Accrediting Agencies by the U.S. Secretary (Information on the U.S. Department of Education Website)
• The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (HEOA), Title IV, Part H
• Accreditation in the United States: The Criteria for Recognition – Basic Eligibility Requirements, The Recognition Process and Department Responsibilities (Information on the U.S. Department of Education Website)
• “Accreditation and the Next Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act” (Inside Accreditation, June 2013)
• “Federalizing Accreditation: A Quandary for Higher Education” (Inside Accreditation, February 2011)
• “State Uses of Accreditation: Results of a Fifty-State Inventory” (CHEA Occasional Paper, September 2010)
• “Who Watches the Watchman? Thoughts on the Federal Relationship to Accreditation in Higher Education”
  (Matthew Finkin, 2009 CHEA Annual Conference Presentation)
• “The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008: What Does It Mean and What Does It Do?” (Inside Accreditation, October 2008)
• “Accreditation and the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008” (CHEA HEA Update, September 19, 2008)

Accreditation and Electronic Technology

• “Accreditation and Electronic Technology” (Doris Gordon, 2013 CHEA Annual Conference Presentation)
• Data Collection and Accreditation: Working More Efficiently and Effectively” (Brad Phillips and Robert Pacheco, 2012 CHEA Summer Workshop Presentation)

Accreditation and Accountability

• “Accountability: An ‘Old’ Issue in a New Era” (Inside Accreditation, June 2009)
• “Balancing Competing Goods: Accreditation and Information to the Public About Quality” (CHEA Letter from the President, March 2004)
• “Accreditation, Professional Interest and the Public Interest: Conflict or Convergence?” (Inside Accreditation, October 2006)
• “Accreditation in a More Demanding World” (Daniel Yankelovich, 2006 CHEA Annual Conference Presentation)
• “Is Accreditation Accountable? The Continuing Conversation Between Accreditation and the Federal Government”
  (CHEA Monograph, October 2003)

Digitalization, Technology and Accreditation

• “The Online Revolution: Education for Everyone” (Andrew Ng, 2013 CHEA Annual Conference Presentation)
• “MOOCs and Accreditation: Focus on the Quality of ‘Direct-to-Students’ Education” (Inside Accreditation, November 2012)
• “International Quality Review and Distance Learning: Lessons from Five Countries’ (CHEA Occasional Paper, January 2005)
• “Accreditation and Assuring Quality in Distance Learning” (CHEA Monograph, 2002)
• “Distance Learning: Academic and Political Challenges for Higher Education Accreditation” (CHEA Monograph, 2001)

Student Learning Outcomes

• “Improving Completion, Maintaining Access” (Bill Scroggins, 2013 CHEA Annual Conference Presentation)
• “Effective Practices: The Role of Accreditation in Student Achievement” (CHEA Advisory Statement, March 2010)
• “New Leadership for Student Learning and Accountability”
  (CHEA/Association of American Colleges and Universities Advisory Statement, January 2008)
• “Evidence of Student Learning” (Mary Jane Harris, 2008 CHEA Summer Workshop Presentation)
• “Statement of Mutual Responsibilities for Student Learning Outcomes: Accreditations, Institutions and Programs”
  (CHEA Advisory Statement, September 2003)
• “Accreditation and Student Learning Outcomes: A Proposed Point of Departure” (CHEA Occasional Paper, September 2001)
• “The Competency Standards Project: Another Approach to Accreditation Review” (CHEA Occasional Paper, August 2001)
• “Advancing Quality Through Attention to Results” (CHEA Chronicle, November 1998)

Accreditation and Academic Integrity

• “Accreditation and Academic Integrity: The Connection Between Academic Integrity and Higher Education Accreditation” 
  (Daniel Wueste, 2012 CHEA Annual Conference Presentation)

Transfer of Credit

• “CHEA/AACRAO/ACE Joint Statement on the Transfer and Award of Credit” (CHEA Advisory Statement, October 2017)
• “Transfer of Credit: Taking a Fresh Look or Continuing the Controversy?” (Inside Accreditation, November 2005)
• “A Framework for Meeting Transfer of Credit Responsibilities” (CHEA Fact Sheet #4, May 2002)

Degree Mills and Accreditation Mills

• “Important Questions About ‘Diploma Mills’ and ‘Accreditation Mills’ ” (CHEA Fact Sheet #6, May 2003)
• “Toward Effective Practice: Discouraging Degree Mills in Higher Education” (CHEA/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Statement, 2009)
• “Combating Site-Based and Distance-Based Degree Mills: Suggestions for Effective Practice” (CHEA Advisory Statement, February 2007)
• State Information on Institutions Licensed or Authorized to Operate (February 13, 2013)
• Degree & Accreditation Mills (Video)