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## International Affairs Office, U.S. Department of Education 12/2007

<http://www.ed.gov/international/usnei/us/accred-postsec.doc>

Accreditation and Quality Assurance:

Postsecondary Accreditation

Postsecondary accreditation at the non-degree and degree levels is the
responsibility of voluntary non-governmental accrediting agencies. These
agencies develop and enforce standards for institutions and programs.
The federal government has no power to accredit institutions, but can
recognize certain accrediting agencies for the narrow purposes of
supporting student assistance programs and institutional eligibility for
assistance.

Recognized accrediting agencies take two forms.

1.  Federally recognized accrediting agencies are those agencies
    approved by the U.S. Department of Education to accredit
    institutions, and some programs, that provide access to federal
    assistance funding and thus meet federal legal criteria governing
    who may apply for, and receive, federal assistance.

2.  Other accrediting agencies that are recognized by professional and
    state licensing authorities, but which do not provide access to
    federal assistance under current law and are thus not federally
    recognized, are recognized by the Council for Higher Education
    Accreditation (CHEA).

Relatively few state government agencies perform accreditation functions
at the postsecondary level, and many states have requirements that
institutions and programs be accredited by recognized accrediting
agencies in order for graduates to obtain state recognition.

There are two broad types of accreditation: institutional and
programmatic.

Institutional accrediting agencies accredit all aspects of an entire
institution. They are further subdivided into regional and national
accrediting agencies. [Regional accrediting agencies]{.underline} tend
to accredit comprehensive institutions with both undergraduate and
graduate components that offer instruction in a variety of subject
fields. [National accrediting agencies, also referred to as specialized
accrediting agencies]{.underline}, tend to accredit specialized
institutions that offer instruction in one or a few subject fields, such
as independent law and medical schools, theological seminaries, schools
of visual and performing arts, and others. The standards and rules
governing both regional and national accrediting agencies are identical,
and institutions accredited by any regional or national accrediting
agency are considered to be recognized higher education institutions
within the U.S. education system.

Programmatic accrediting agencies accredit specific programs of study at
institutionally accredited institutions. They do not accredit the entire
institution. Nearly all programmatic accrediting agencies operate in
subject fields that provide professional education and preparation for
meeting state licensing requirements.

Some national accrediting agencies accredit both individual programs
located within accredited institutions and entire specialized
institutions that offer instruction in a specific field of study.

GENERAL INFORMATION

[**ED Accreditation
Page**](http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html) provides
comprehensive information on the federal role in accreditation, the
criteria and rules governing federal recognition, and the types of
accreditation.

[**Council on Higher Education Accreditation
(CHEA**](http://www.chea.org/default.asp)[)]{.underline} provides
comprehensive information and resources concerning the practice of
postsecondary accreditation in the United States as well as information
of relevance to international quality assurance.

RECOGNIZED ACCREDITING AGENCIES

[**Nationally Recognized Accrediting
Agencies**](http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/accreditation_pg6.html#NationallyRecognized)
is the U.S. Department of Education's directory of federally recognized
accrediting agencies, both regional and national.

[**CHEA Directory of Recognized Accrediting
Organizations**](http://www.chea.org/Directories/index.asp) is the
Council on Higher Education Accreditation's directory of recognized
accrediting agencies.

[**Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors
(ASPA)**](http://www.aspa-usa.org/), a member of CHEA, is a national
association of accrediting agencies for the regulated professions.

STATE ACCREDITING AGENCIES

A few state agencies have achieved standards of quality assurance
inspection and oversight that enable them to be approved by the U.S.
Department of Education for limited purposes.

**[State Agencies Recognized for the Approval of Public Postsecondary
Vocational
Education](http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/accreditation_pg20.html#VocationalEducation)**
provides information about the state vocational accreditation
authorities recognized by the federal government for approving
postsecondary career and technical education providers.

**[State Agencies and Accrediting Bodies Recognized for the Approval of
Nurse
Education](http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/accreditation_pg22.html#NurseEducationAgencies)**
provides information about the state health accreditation authorities
recognized by the federal government for approving postsecondary
providers of nursing training (non-degree education).

INTERNATIONAL ACCREDITATION

The U.S. Department of Education's limited authority to recognize
accrediting agencies under the legal provisions pertaining to federal
assistance is restricted to the domestic territory of the United States.
For accreditation outside the United States, the federal government
relies on the national accreditation and quality assurance authorities
in countries with which the United States has diplomatic relations, the
information provided by international organizations to which the United
States belongs, and international agreements such as the Lisbon
Convention. States, institutions, and employers rely on these sources
plus the recommendations of credential evaluators, admissions officials,
and other experts.

The Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) is an active member
of the International Network for Quality Assurance and Accreditation in
Higher Education (INQAAHE) and participates in UNESCO and OECD
activities relating to higher education, quality assurance and
recognition.

[International Principles for U.S.
Accreditors](http://www.chea.org/pdf/internatl_principles_01.pdf) is the
official set of policy guidelines for U.S. recognized accrediting
agencies that accredit institutions or programs outside the United
States, whether branches of U.S. providers or belonging to another
education system.

[International Quality Review](http://www.chea.org/) is the section of
the CHEA website that provides information and resources on
international activities.

[CHEA International Directory](http://www.chea.org/intdb/disclaimer.asp)
is a directory of international quality assurance and accreditation
agencies.

For links to recognized accrediting and quality assurance authorities,
plus recognition authorities in specific countries go to [**National
Education
Systems**](http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/international/edlite-nat-info.html).

See also: [**School-Level
Accreditation**](http://www.ed.gov/international/usnei/us/accred-school.doc)

> **[Federal Recognition and
> Approval](http://www.ed.gov/international/usnei/us/accred-fed.doc)**

**[State Approval of Schools and Postsecondary
Institutions](http://www.ed.gov/international/usnei/us/accred-state.doc)**

**[Other Quality Assurance
Provisions](http://www.ed.gov/international/usnei/us/qualassurance.doc)**

[**Diploma Mills and
Fraud**](http://www.ed.gov/international/usnei/us/fraud.doc)

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