Higher education accreditation in the United States

Historically, educational accreditation activities in the United States have been overseen by six regional accrediting agencies established in the late 19th and early 20th century to foster articulation between secondary schools and higher education institutions, particularly evaluation of prospective students by colleges and universities.[7][8] These six regional accreditation agencies are membership organizations of educational institutions within their geographic regions. Initially, the main focus of the organizations was to accredit secondary schools and to establish uniform college entrance requirements.[7][8] Accreditation of colleges and universities followed later.[8]

Both regional and national accreditation of higher education applies to the entire institution, specific programs, and distance education within an institution.[9] The higher education institutions holding regional accreditation are primarily non-profit institutions with significant exceptions, as the largest US for-profit Universities (University of Phoenix, Grand Canyon University, Strayer/Capella University) are regionally accredited. [10][11]

National accrediting bodies are also recognized by the US Department of Education. These include:[12]

• Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC)
• Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training (ACCET)
• Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS)[Note 1]
• Association of Advanced Rabbinical and Talmudic Schools, Accreditation Commission
• Council on Occupational Education (COE)
• Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC)
• Association of Institutions of Jewish Studies
• Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools, Accreditation Commission
• New York State Board of Regents, and the Commissioner of Education

Regionally accredited schools are usually academically oriented, and most are non-profit. Nationally accredited schools, a large number of which are for-profit, typically offer specific vocational, career, or technical programs. Regionally accredited institutions employ large numbers of full-time faculty, and the faculty set the academic policies. Regionally-accredited schools are required to have adequate library facilities. Except for some specific subject areas such as nursing, nationally-accredited schools do not hire many full-time faculty, usually hiring faculty by the course, without benefits and with no influence on the school's academic policies, which are determined by non-academic administrators, and ultimately investors. Their library facilities, if they exist at all, are far inferior to those of regionally-accredited schools. While there are some legitimate and well-intentioned nationally accredited schools, by and large they exist not to educate, but to make money for their investors. They live on federal student aid and very high tuitions, often leaving graduating students with credentials of little value and large student loans, often without job prospects by which to pay them off. Critics consider national accreditation to be disreputable,[4] Schools accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges, a national accreditor, have occasionally been sued for leading prospective students to believe, incorrectly, that they would have no problem transferring their credits to a regionally accredited school.[16][17][18]

Specialized and professional accreditors are recognized as reputable by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Best practices are shared and developed through affiliation with the Association of Professional and Specialized Accreditors.[19] The more visible specialized and professional accreditors include:

• Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN)[20]
• Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology – for applied science, computing, engineering, and technology programs
• Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) - for business schools
• American Bar Association – for law schools. Graduation from an ABA-accredited law school is a prerequisite to sitting for the bar exam in most states, a notable exception being California.
• American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation – for dentistry schools
• American Veterinary Medical Association – for veterinary schools
• Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), Commission on Accreditation
• Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS)
• Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) – for business schools
• Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)[21]
• Commission on English Language Program Accreditation (CEA)
• Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation – for medical schools that grant a DO degree
• Liaison Committee on Medical Education – for medical schools that grant an MD degree
• National Architectural Accrediting Board – for architecture schools. Graduation from a NAAB-accredited architecture school is a prerequisite to sitting for the architectural licensing exams in most states
• National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration – for public policy schools

Although many schools related to religious organizations hold regional accreditation or secular national accreditation, there are four different agencies that specialize in accreditation of religious schools:

• Association of Advanced Rabbinical and Talmudic Schools (AARTS)
• Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS)
• Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE)
• Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS)

These groups specialize in accrediting theological and religious schools including seminaries and graduate schools of theology, as well as broader-scope universities that teach from a religious viewpoint and may require students and/or faculty to subscribe to a statement of faith. Additionally, as of 2009, 20 U.S. states and Puerto Rico had some form of exemption provision under which religious institutions can grant religious degrees without accreditation or government oversight.[23][24]

Since 2001, the use of the top-level internet domain, .edu has been restricted to accredited institutions, but non-qualifying institutions can still use .edu domain names obtained before the current rules came into force.[25]

Various commenters have written about the role and effectiveness of the American accreditation system. It has drawn particular interest since the rise of e-learning classes and institutions. A frequent point of discussion and criticism is that the traditional system is limited to measuring "input" factors, such as adequate facilities and properly credentialed faculty, rather than the quality of a school's educational output.[26]

In his 1996 book Crisis in the Academy, Christopher J. Lucas criticized the accreditation system as too expensive, onerously complicated, incestuous in its organization, and not properly tied to quality.[27][28] Similarly, a 2002 report by George C. Leef and Roxana D. Burris of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) argued that the system does not ensure or protect educational quality, while still imposing significant costs.[29][30] In a 2006 "issue paper", Robert C. Dickeson wrote that a lack of transparency, low and lax standards, and outdated regionalization were among the problems with regional accreditation.[31] Others, such as Edward M. Elmendorf of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, reject these claims, arguing that they are "picking around the edges" of a proven and necessary system for upholding standards.[27][32] Critics note that many for-profit schools were created for profit motives, to provide an often misleading veneer of respectability for education that is sub-standard.[33]

At various times the U.S. government has investigated changes to the accreditation system. In 2002 the House of Representatives Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness criticized the system.[32] Accreditation was a major topic of the Spellings Commission, which released its report on September 26, 2006.[34] The Council for Higher Education Accreditation recognizes that there are criticisms,[35] but has opposed these calls for reform, with President Judith S. Eaton arguing that the system is successful and needs to remain flexible to accommodate differences between schools and disciplines.[32] In 2013, President Barack Obama proposed changes in the accreditation system to hold "colleges accountable for cost, value, and quality".[36] He requested Congress change the Higher Education Act so that affordability and value are considered in determining which institutions are accredited and allow students access to federal financial aid; his criticism was directed at for-profit institutions.[37]

• List of recognized higher education accreditation organizations
• List of unrecognized higher education accreditation organizations
• Accreditation mill