United States Department of Education
National Association of State Boards of Education
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Accreditation is a process that involves evaluating the overall quality of an institution and its programs, including the qualifications and expertise of faculty members. Accreditation is institution-specific, and individual professors are not typically accredited separately. Instead, the accreditation process assesses the overall effectiveness of the educational institution and its ability to meet certain standards.
IRS 990 (Non-Profit Explorer: Council For Higher Education Accreditation
The Council for Higher Education Accreditation claims to be the national advocate and institutional voice for self-regulation of academic quality through accreditation — a non-profit organization with 3,000 degree-granting colleges and universities and recognizes 60 institutional and programmatic accrediting organizations.
In the United States, the accreditation of college and university programs, including the evaluation of faculty qualifications, is typically managed by regional accrediting agencies; each with hegemonic claims. They are united with a common interest in money coming from the U.S. Department of Education which controls money flow.
While the CHEA plays a role in overseeing accrediting bodies, the direct influence on the quality of facilities lies with the institutions themselves and the accrediting agencies that evaluate them.
Accreditation standards may touch upon aspects of facilities, but the day-to-day management and improvement of facilities are typically the responsibility of the individual higher education institutions.
The regional accrediting agencies in the United States include:
- Higher Learning Commission (HLC) – Covers the central United States.
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) – Covers the mid-Atlantic region.
- New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) – Covers the New England states.
- Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) – Covers the northwest region.
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) – Covers the southern United States.
- WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) – Covers the western United States.
