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Consulting Certifications:
Notice on Accreditation in the U.S.
The United States has no Federal Ministry of Education or other
centralized authority exercising single national control over
postsecondary educational institutions in this country. The
States assume varying degrees of control over education, but,
in general, institutions of higher education are permitted to
operate with considerable independence and autonomy. As a consequence,
American educational institutions can vary widely in the character
and quality of their programs.
In order to ensure a basic level of quality, the practice of
accreditation arose in the United States as a means of conducting
non-governmental, peer evaluation of educational institutions
and programs. Private educational associations of regional or
national scope have adopted criteria reflecting the qualities
of a sound educational program and have developed procedures
for evaluating institutions or programs to determine whether
or not they are operating at basic levels of quality.
Standards: The accrediting agency, in collaboration with educational
institutions, establishes standards. Self-study: The institution
or program seeking accreditation prepares an in-depth self-evaluation
study that measures its performance against the standards established
by the accrediting agency. On-site Evaluation: A team selected
by the accrediting agency visits the institution or program
to determine first-hand if the applicant meets the established
standards. Publication: Upon being satisfied that the applicant
meets its standards, the accrediting agency grants accreditation
or preaccreditation status and lists the institution or program
in an official publication with other similarly accredited or
preaccredited institutions or programs. Monitoring: The accrediting
agency monitors each accredited institution or program throughout
the period of accreditation granted to verify that it continues
to meet the agency's standards. Reevaluation: The accrediting
agency periodically reevaluates each institution or program
that it lists to ascertain whether continuation of its accredited
or preaccredited status is warranted.
Types of Accreditation
There are two basic types of educational accreditation, one
identified as "institutional" and one referred to
as "specialized" or "programmatic."
Institutional accreditation normally applies to an entire institution,
indicating that each of an institution's parts is contributing
to the achievement of the institution's objectives, although
not necessarily all at the same level of quality. The various
commissions of the regional accrediting associations, for example,
perform institutional accreditation, as do many national accrediting
agencies.
Specialized or programmatic accreditation normally applies
to programs, departments, or schools that are parts of an institution.
The accredited unit may be as large as a college or school within
a university or as small as a curriculum within a discipline.
Most of the specialized or programmatic accrediting agencies
review units within an institution of higher education that
is accredited by one of the regional accrediting commissions.
However, certain accrediting agencies also accredit professional
schools and other specialized or vocational institutions of
higher education that are free-standing in their operations.
Thus, a "specialized " or "programmatic "
accrediting agency may also function in the capacity of an "institutional
" accrediting agency. In addition, a number of specialized
accrediting agencies accredit educational programs within non-educational
settings, such as hospitals.
Non-governmental Coordinating Agency
For more than 50 years, there has been some type of nongovernmental
coordinating agency for accreditation. This body, whatever its
form, has existed primarily for the purpose of coordinating
and improving the practice of accreditation. For example, the
Council on Postsecondary Accreditation (COPA), which was established
in 1974 and existed until December 1993, served as a nongovernmental
organization whose purpose was to foster and facilitate the
role of accrediting agencies in promoting and ensuring the quality
and diversity of American postsecondary education. Through its
Committee on Recognition, COPA recognized, coordinated, and
periodically reviewed the work of its member accrediting agencies
and the appropriateness of existing or proposed accrediting
agencies and their activities, through its granting of recognition
and performance of other related functions. COPA itself was
created through the merger of two organizations: the National
Commission on Accreditation, founded in 1949 as the first national
organization to develop criteria and recognize accrediting agencies;
and the Federation of Regional Accrediting Commission of Higher
Education.
After COPA voted to dissolve in December 1993, a new entity,
the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation
(CORPA) was established in January 1994 to continue the recognition
of accrediting agencies previously carried out by COPA until
such time as a new national organization for accreditation could
be established. CORPA was dissolved in April 1997 after the
Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) was created.
CHEA is currently the entity that carries out a recognition
function in the private, nongovernmental sector.
Note: The U.S. Department of Education does not have the authority
to accredit private or public elementary or secondary schools,
and the Department does not recognize accrediting bodies for
the accreditation of private or public elementary and secondary
schools. However, the U.S. Department of Education does recognize
accrediting bodies for the accreditation of institutions of
higher (postsecondary) education. If an accrediting body which
is recognized by the Department for higher education also accredits
elementary and secondary schools, the Department's recognition
applies only to the agency's accreditation of postsecondary
institutions.
Accreditation does not provide automatic acceptance by an institution
of credit earned at another institution, nor does it give assurance
of acceptance of graduates by employers. Acceptance of students
or graduates is always the prerogative of the receiving institution
or employer. For these reasons, besides ascertaining the accredited
status of a school or program, students should take additional
measures to determine, prior to enrollment, whether or not their
educational goals will be met through attendance at a particular
institution. These measures should include inquiries to institutions
to which transfer might be desired or to prospective employers
and, if possible, personal inspection of the institution at
which enrollment is contemplated. http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/accreditation_pg2.html#U.S.