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 
• 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 
• An Overview of U.S. Accreditation 
• The Condition of Accreditation: U.S. Accreditation in 2013 

CHEA Videos

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

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”
• “Federalizing Accreditation: A Quandary for Higher Education”
• “State Uses of Accreditation: Results of a Fifty-State Inventory”
• “Who Watches the Watchman? Thoughts on the Federal Relationship to Accreditation in Higher Education”
• “The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008: What Does It Mean and What Does It Do?”
• “Accreditation and the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008”

Accreditation and Electronic Technology

• “Accreditation and Electronic Technology”
• Data Collection and Accreditation: Working More Efficiently and Effectively”

Accreditation and Accountability

• “Accountability: An ‘Old’ Issue in a New Era”
• “Balancing Competing Goods: Accreditation and Information to the Public About Quality”
• “Accreditation, Professional Interest and the Public Interest: Conflict or Convergence?”
• “Accreditation in a More Demanding World” 
• “Is Accreditation Accountable? The Continuing Conversation Between Accreditation and the Federal Government”

Digitalization, Technology and Accreditation

• “The Online Revolution: Education for Everyone”
• “MOOCs and Accreditation: Focus on the Quality of ‘Direct-to-Students’ Education”
• “International Quality Review and Distance Learning: Lessons from Five Countries’
• “Accreditation and Assuring Quality in Distance Learning”
• “Distance Learning: Academic and Political Challenges for Higher Education Accreditation”

Student Learning Outcomes

• “Improving Completion, Maintaining Access”
• “Effective Practices: The Role of Accreditation in Student Achievement”
• “New Leadership for Student Learning and Accountability”
• “Evidence of Student Learning”
• “Statement of Mutual Responsibilities for Student Learning Outcomes: Accreditations, Institutions and Programs”
• “Accreditation and Student Learning Outcomes: A Proposed Point of Departure”
• “The Competency Standards Project: Another Approach to Accreditation Review”
• “Advancing Quality Through Attention to Results”

Accreditation and Academic Integrity

• “Accreditation and Academic Integrity: The Connection Between Academic Integrity and Higher Education Accreditation” 

Transfer of Credit

• “CHEA/AACRAO/ACE Joint Statement on the Transfer and Award of Credit”
• “Transfer of Credit: Taking a Fresh Look or Continuing the Controversy?”
• “A Framework for Meeting Transfer of Credit Responsibilities” (CHEA Fact Sheet #4)

Degree Mills and Accreditation Mills

• “Important Questions About ‘Diploma Mills’ and ‘Accreditation Mills’ ” (CHEA Fact Sheet #6)
• “Toward Effective Practice: Discouraging Degree Mills in Higher Education”
• “Combating Site-Based and Distance-Based Degree Mills: Suggestions for Effective Practice”
• State Information on Institutions Licensed or Authorized to Operate 
• Degree & Accreditation Mills (Video)