CHEA- and USDE-Recognized Accrediting Organizations

CHEA- and USDE-Recognized Accrediting Organizations

Part I of this chart lists regional, national faith-related, national career-related and programmatic accreditors that are or have been recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) or both. Organizations identified by (•) are recognized; (–) indicates those not recognized. An asterisk (*) identifies accrediting organizations that were formerly recognized and not currently recognized. (†) Effective July 1, 2017, the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) assumed responsibility for carrying out the mission and vision of the Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE). All graduate programs that were formerly accredited by CORE are now accredited by CACREP.

To be CHEA recognized an accreditor must meet the CHEA standards for recognition (2021) (https://www.chea.org/chea-standards-and-procedures-recognition). Accreditors exercise independent judgment about whether to seek CHEA recognition. For USDE recognition, accreditation from the organization is used by an institution or program to establish eligibility to participate in federal student aid or other federal programs
(www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/index.html). Some accreditors cannot be considered for USDE recognition because they do not provide access to federal funds. Other accreditors have chosen not to pursue USDE recognition.

Because CHEA affiliation and USDE recognition depend on a range of factors, readers are strongly cautioned against making judgments about the quality of an accrediting organization and its institutions and programs based solely on CHEA or USDE status. Additional inquiry is essential. If you have questions about the CHEA or USDE recognition status of an accreditor, please contact the accrediting organization.

This chart is updated when the CHEA Board of Directors recognizes or withdraws recognition of an accrediting organization and when the United States Secretary of Education recognizes or withdraws recognition of an accrediting organization. Please visit the CHEA website at: www.chea.org

PART I

Accreditor	CHEA Recognition Status	USDE Recognition Status
REGIONAL ACCREDITING ORGANIZATIONS
Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges Western Association of Schools and Colleges	•	•
Higher Learning Commission	•	•
Middle States Commission on Higher Education	*	•
New England Commission of Higher Education	•	•
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities	•	•
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	•	•
WASC Senior College and University Commission	•	•
NATIONAL FAITH-RELATED ACCREDITING ORGANIZATIONS
Association of Advanced Rabbinical and Talmudic Schools (AARTS)	•	•
Association for Biblical Higher Education Commission on Accreditation	•	•
Association of Institutions of Jewish Studies	–	•
Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools	•	•
Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools Accreditation Commission	•	•
NATIONAL CAREER-RELATED ACCREDITING ORGANIZATIONS
Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools	–	•
Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges	–	•
Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training	–	•
Council on Occupational Education	–	•
National Accrediting Commision of Career Arts and Sciences, Inc.	–	•
INSTITUTIONAL ACCREDITING ORGANIZATIONS
Distance Education Accrediting Commission	•	•
PROGRAMMATIC ACCREDITING ORGANIZATIONS
Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine	–	•
Accreditation Commission for Audiology Education	•	–
Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing	•	•
Accreditation Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration	•	–
Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education	–	•
Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs	•	*
Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics Academy of Nutrition and Diatetics	*	•
Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education	•	•
Accreditation Council for Optometric Education	•	•
Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc.	•	–
Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications	•	*
American Academy of Forensic Sciences Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission	•	–
American Board of Funeral Service Education Committee on Accreditation	•	•
American Council for Construction Education	•	–
American Culinary Federation Education Foundation, Inc. Accrediting Commission	•	*
American Library Association Committee on Accreditation	•	–
American Occupational Therapy Association Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education	•	•
American Osteopathic Association Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation	*	•
American Physical Therapy Association Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education	•	•
American Podiatric Medical Association Council on Podiatric Medical Education	•	•
American Psychological Association Commission on Accreditation	•	•
American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education	•	•
Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation	•	–
Association for Behavior Analysis International Accreditation Board	•	–
Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, Inc. Accreditation Commission	–	•
Association of Technology, Management and Applied Engineering	•	*
Aviation Accreditation Board International	•	–
Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education	•	–
Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy	•	*
Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care	•	–
Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs	•	*
Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education	•	–
Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education	•	*
Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs, Inc.	•	–
Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education	*	•
Commission on Dental Accreditation American Dental Association	–	•
Commission on English Language Program Accreditation	–	•
Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation	–	•
Commission on Opticianry Accreditation	•	*
Commission on Sport Management Accreditation	•	–
Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs†	•	–
Council for Interior Design Accreditation	•	*
Council for Standards in Human Service Education	•	–
Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation	•	–
Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar American Bar Association	–	•
Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology American Speech-Language-Hearing-Association	•	•
Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs	•	•
Council on Accreditation of Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Related Professions	•	–
Council on Chiropractic Education	•	•
Council on Education for Public Health	–	•
Council on Naturopathic Medical Education	–	•
Council on Social Work Education Commission on Accreditation	•	*
International Accreditation Council for Business Education	•	–
Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology	•	•
Joint Review Committee on Educational Programs in Nuclear Medicine Technology	•	*
Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board American Society of Landscape Architects	•	*
Liaison Committee on Medical Education	–	•
Masters in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council	•	–
Midwifery Education Accreditation Council	–	•
Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education	–	•
National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences	•	*
National Association for the Education of Young Children	•	–
National Association of School Psychologists	•	–
National Association of Schools and Art and Design Commission on Accreditation	*	•
National Association of Schools of Dance Commission on Accreditation	*	•
National Association of Schools of Music Commission on Accreditation	*	•
National Nurse Practitioner Residency and Fellowship Training Consortium	–	•
National Schools of Schools of Theatre Commission on Accreditation	*	•
Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration Commission on Peer Review and Accreditation	•	–
Planning Accreditation Board	•	–
Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System	•	–

PART II

Part II of this chart lists accreditors previously recognized by CHEA or the USDE or both and not currently recognized by either group. Organizations identified by (–) indicates those not recognized. As asterisk (*) identifies accrediting organizations that were formerly recognized and are no longer recognized.

Accreditor	CHEA Recognition Status	USDE Recognition Status
AACSB International--The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business	*	*
ABET	*	*
Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools	*	*
American Academy for Liberal Education	–	*
American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Council for Accreditation	*	–
American Society for Microbiology American College of Microbiology	–	*
Council on Rehabilitation Education Commission on Standards and Accreditation1	*	*
International Fire Service Accreditation Congress - Degree Assembly	*	–
National Architectural Accrediting Board, Inc.	–	*
National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health Council on Accreditation	–	*
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education2	*	*
National Environmental Health Science and Protection Accreditation Council	–	*
New England Association of Schools and Colleges Committee on Technical and Career Institutions	–	*
New York State Board of Regents	–	*
Society of American Foresters	*	*
Teacher Education Accreditation Council2	*	*
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Commission on Certification and Accreditation	–	*