Regional Accrediting Organizations
Regional Accrediting Organizations 2018-2019
The accrediting organizations identified in this directory are recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Recognition by CHEA affirms that the standards and processes of the accrediting organization are consistent with the academic quality, improvement and accountability expectations that CHEA has established, including the eligibility standard that the majority of institutions or programs each accredits are degree-granting.
Click here to download the complete 2018-2019 Directory of CHEA Recognized Organizations as a pdf file.
- Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) Western Association of Schools and Colleges
- Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)
- New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE)
- Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
- WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC)
Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC)
Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Richard Winn, President
10 Commercial Boulevard, Suite 204
Novato, CA 94949
Phone: 415-506-0234
Fax: 415-506-0238
E-mail: accjc@accjc.org
Web: www.accjc.org
Recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, September 2016
CHEA Recognized Scope of Accreditation
Associate degree-granting institutions, with authorization to approve a first career or technically oriented baccalaureate degree, in colleges in California, Hawaii, the Territories of Guam and American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. (2017)
Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
Barbara Gellman-Danley, President
230 South LaSalle, Suite 7-500
Chicago, IL 60604-1413
Phone: 312-263-0456
Fax: 312-263-7462
E-mail: bgdanley@hlcommission.org
Web: http://www.hlcommission.org/
Recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, January 2015
CHEA Recognized Scope of Accreditation
Degree granting institutions incorporated in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming or federally authorized sovereign nations that are authorized (licensed) by the same state or nation to award higher degrees (associate, baccalaureate, master's or doctoral degrees (both research and professional)). (2012)
Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)
Elizabeth H. Sibolski, President
3624 Market Street, 2nd Floor West
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Phone: 267-284-5000
Fax: 215-662-5501
E-mail: info@msche.org
Web: www.msche.org
Recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, April 2013
CHEA Recognized Scope of Accreditation
Degree-granting institutions which offer one or more postsecondary educational programs, including those offered via distance education, of at least one academic year in length in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and other geographical areas outside the United States in which the Commission conducts accrediting activities. (2013)
New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE)
Barbara E. Brittingham, President of the Commission
3 Burlington Woods Drive, Suite #100
Burlington, MA 01803
Phone: 781-425-7714
Fax: 781-425-1001
E-mail: CIHE@neasc.org
Web: http://cihe.neasc.org
Recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, September 2013
CHEA Recognized Scope of Accreditation
The accreditation of institutions that award the bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees and associate's degree-granting institutions that include in their offerings at least one program in liberal studies or another area of study widely available at the baccalaureate level of regionally accredited colleges and universities in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont and internationally. (2013)
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
Sonny Ramaswamy, President
8060 165th Avenue, Suite #100
Redmond, WA 98052
Phone: 452-558-4224
Fax: 425-376-0596
E-mail: president@nwccu.org
Web: http://www.nwccu.org
Recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, January 2019
CHEA Recognized Scope of Accreditation
The accreditation and preaccreditation (“Candidacy status”) of postsecondary degree-granting educational institutions in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and internationally, and the accreditation of programs offered via distance education within these institutions. (2019)
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
Belle S. Wheelan, President
1866 Southern Lane
Decatur, GA 30033
Phone: 404-679-4500
Fax: 404-679-4528
E-mail: bwheelan@sacscoc.org
Web: www.sacscoc.org
Recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, September 2015
CHEA Recognized Scope of Accreditation
Regional accrediting body for degree-granting institutions of higher education in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Latin America, and other Commission approved international sites, including the accreditation of programs offered via distance and correspondence education within these institutions. (2014)
WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC)
Jamienne S. Studley, President
985 Atlantic Avenue, Suite 100
Alameda, CA 94501
Phone: 510-748-9001
Fax: 510-748-9797
E-mail: wasc@wscuc.org
Web: www.wscuc.org
Recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, January 2014
CHEA Recognized Scope of Accreditation
Baccalaureate degree or higher institutions in California, Hawaii, and the Pacific Basin; institutions that offer programs outside the United States when such institutions are capable of being reviewed effectively by WASC processes. (2014)