Competition among the providers of education is increasing due to advances in technology and private sector involvement. Product acceptance, fitness for use, and competitive advantage are rapidly becoming a way of thinking to many both inside and outside of higher education. Here public confidence in the institution is directly linked to the perceived return on investment. Institutions of higher education are regarded as vendors in a free and capitalist economy. The perspective is that of the consumer, not the provider.
Accreditation occupies the third corner of the quality triangle.
Whereas regulation concentrates on compliance, and competition on marketability, only accreditation focuses on the integrity of the work itself. But accreditation has not fared well in recent years. In fact at times it seems overwhelmed by the forces of an expanding marketplace and increasing governmental intervention. But if these two forces continue unchecked, higher education may be significantly compromised. Accreditation is not an easy process to define or describe.