Accreditation and Quality Assurance

By definition accreditation is the granting of approval to an institution of learning by an official review board after the school has met specific requirements.

In the United States accrediting associations are voluntary membership organizations that monitor the academic and administrative quality of their members, which are either entire institutions or components.

The nature of accreditation is set forth very clearly in the following U.S. official paper:

What is Accreditation?,
by the U.S. Secretary of Education through the Office of Postsecondary Education.

NOTE: Accreditation is the United States is equivalent to the recognition afforded schools and higher education institutions by ministries and statutory laws in other countries, and the validity of accreditation for such purposes is recognized by U.S. state governments, the federal government, and generally by other countries and international organizations.

Forms of Accreditation U.S.

Accreditation consists of two forms:

Institutional accreditation is the approval of an entire academic institution, including all of its academic and administrative aspects, but not the specific approval of any single course of study.

Programmatic or specialized accreditation is the approval of a specific academic or professional program of study, or a set of closely related programs offered by an academic institution. If the institution offering the program specializes in only that subject, then programmatic accreditation may be considered accreditation of the institution.

In both cases, the accreditation process involves several steps that must take place:

1. The accrediting association establishes, and periodically refines, its standards and policies to be followed by all successful candidates for accreditation or re-accreditation;
2. An institution or program faculty petitions the association for membership as an accredited entity, or is notified if already a member that the time for re-accreditation has come;
3. The institution or program begins a process of preparing and conducting an intensive and thorough self-study, led by a designated committee of faculty and staff and following guidelines set forth by the accrediting association;
4. The association selects a team of external academic and administrative experts from other similar institutions or programs, and this team reviews the self-study report and visits the institution or program for an on-site inspection following the association's inspection and evaluation guidelines;
5. The evaluation team issues its report recommending for or against accreditation or re-accreditation, and enumerating any conditions that need to be met before full positive approval may be given; and
6. The association's members vote on the status of the candidate or member, and publishes the name and information about successful candidates and re-accredited members in the next annual edition of its official approved list.

Each accrediting association publishes its standards, policies, guidelines, and lists of candidates and members. Information is also published on institutions removed from accredited status or denied initial accreditation.

Types of Accrediting Associations

Accrediting associations monitor the quality of institutions and academic or professional programs.

Regional accrediting associations are responsible for institutional accreditation activities within a proscribed geographic region of the United States and, in some cases, overseas territories or foreign countries. They do not specifically monitor individual subject content areas.

National and Specialized, or Professional accrediting associations are responsible for accrediting specific programs that offer courses of study within the subject content area that the association covers. Since some institutions specialize in only one field of study, accreditation by a national or specialized accrediting association is tantamount to accrediting the institution itself.

Links to Specialized Associations

The Distance Education and Training Council

What are the accreditation and certification issues in distance education?

The Global Distance Education Net,
The World Bank Commission on Institutions of Higher Education Policy for the Accreditation of Academic Degree and Certificate Programs Offered through Distance Education

What distance learners need to know: What is accreditation?
Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications

Regional Accreditation and Distance Education
Advising Quarterly

U.S. Department of Education Regional Accreditation Agencies

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
http://www.msache.org/

New England Association of Schools and Colleges
http://www.neasc.org/

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
http://www.ncacihe.org/

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
http://www.sacs.org/

Western Association of Schools and Colleges
http://www.wascweb.org/

Accreditating Associations for Bible Colleges

Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges (AABC) http://www.gospelcom.net/aabc/Default.htm

Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS)
http://www.ats.edu/accredit/acctoc.htm/

Specialized Accreditating Associations

American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
600 Emerson Road, Suite 300
St. Louis, MO 63141-6762
Phone: (314) 872-8495
http://www.aacsb.edu

American Council on Pharmaceutical Education (ACPE)
311 West Superior Street, Suite 512
Chicago, IL 60610
Phone: (312) 664-3575
http://www.acpe-accredit.org

American Psychological Association (APA) Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
750 First St. NE
Washington, D.C. 20002-4242
Phone: (202) 336-5979
http://www.apa.org/ed/accred.html

Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) One Dupont Circle, NW,
Suite 510
Washington, D.C. 20036-1135
Phone: (202) 955-6126
http://www.chea.org/

Distance Education and Training Council (DETC)
1601 18th Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20009
Phone: (202) 234-5100
http://www.detc.org

Distance Education Demonstration Programs http://www.ed.gov/inits/FY99

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSACS)
3624 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-2680
Phone: (215) 662-5603
http://www.css-msa.org

National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA)
1120 G Street, NW, Suite 730
Washington, D.C. 20005
Phone: (202) 628-8965
http://www.naspaa.org

New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC)
http://www.neasc.org/

North Central Association Commission on Schools (NCA)
http://www.nca.asu.edu

Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges (NWSC)
11130 N.E. 33rd Place
Bellevue, WA 98004
Phone: (425) 827-2005
e-mail: selman@u.washington.edu

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) http://www.sacs.org

Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) http://www.wascweb.org