It also helps institutions and their component units improve the quality of education they offer. Institutional accreditation evaluates the institution as a whole. Six regional associations and six national associations restrict their activities to institutions of a particular type. Specialized accreditation evaluates professional and occupational education at the unit or program level. It is conducted by specialized accrediting bodies generally established by national professional organizations in such fields as journalism, law, medicine, social work, and teacher education.
Specialized accreditation is both a process and a condition.
The process entails the assessment of the program's quality and the continued enhancement of the program's operations through compliance with specified professional standards. Both the process and the condition provide benefits to a variety of publics. These publics include students, program faculty, institutional administrators, program graduates, professionals in the field and the consumers of professional services. Copyright 2000, American Library Association.