Accreditation Toolkit – Faculty

This section contains information for faculty members interested in accreditation and recognition in the United States.

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

• Directory of CHEA-Recognized Accrediting Organizations 
• CHEA- & USDE-Recognized Accrediting Organizations 
• CHEA Almanac Online 
• CHEA Recognition Decision Summaries
• 2021 CHEA Recognition Policy and Procedures 
• What Is Accreditation? 

CHEA Videos

(Disclaimer: Ads seen in the videos below are a function of YouTube marketing and not inserted by CHEA.)

• 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)
• 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 Accountability

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

Student Learning Outcomes

• “Improving Completion, Maintaining Access”
• “Effective Practices: The Role of Accreditation in Student Achievement”
• “New Leadership for Student Learning and Accountability”
• “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”

Academic Corruption and Academic Integrity

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

Accreditation and Academic Freedom

• “Accreditation and Academic Freedom Advisory Statement”
• “Academic Freedom and Accreditation”
• “Accreditation and Academic Freedom”
• “Academic Freedom and the Role of Accreditation”

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 Education”
• “Distance Learning: Academic and Political Challenges for 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”

Quality, Accreditation and Graduate Education

• “Quality, Accreditation, and Graduate Education: What Does the Future Hold?”

Degree Mills and Accreditation Mills

• “Important Questions About ‘Diploma Mills’ and ‘Accreditation Mills’ ” (CHEA Fact Sheet 6)
• Degree & Accreditation Mills (Video)