Accreditation

In the United States, accreditation is a key way that students, families, government officials, and the press know that an institution or program provides a quality education. The United States Department of Education (ED) does not accredit educational institutions and/or programs. However, the ED is required by law to publish the list of the accrediting agencies which includes non-governmental entities as well as governmental agencies.

In the US, colleges and universities are accredited by one of 19 recognized institutional accrediting organizations. Programs are accredited by one of approximately 60 recognized programmatic accrediting organizations. Accrediting organizations have been reviewed for quality by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or the ED.

The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) is a national advocate and institutional voice for self-regulation of academic quality through accreditation, CHEA is an association of 3,000 degree-granting colleges and universities and recognizes 60 institutional and programmatic accrediting organizations.

The CHEA Database of Institutions and Programs Accredited by Recognized United States Accrediting Organizations contains information about more than 8,200 degree-granting and non-degree-granting postsecondary institutions and 20,000 programs in the US.

Accreditation serves the following purposes:

  • Ensuring quality: Accreditation is the primary means by which colleges, universities, and programs ensure quality to students and the public.
  • Allowing access to federal funds: Students who want federal, and sometimes state, grants and loans need to attend a college, university, or program that is accredited.
  • Easing transfer: Accreditation is important to students for a smooth transfer.
  • Ensuring employer confidence: The accreditation status of an institution or program is important to employers when evaluating credentials of job applicants.

Accreditation Policy

The Cultural Division of the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Washington, DC authenticates only UAE citizens’ degrees, certificates, diplomas, transcripts and letters of completion from the accredited US institutions by one of the six Regional Accrediting Organizations. Also programs, such as Business Administration, Engineering, Computer Science, Education, Medicine, Public Administration, Arts, Journalism/Mass Communications, Social Work, and others programs, have to be accredited by the appropriate Professional Accrediting Organization.

The Accreditors

In the United States, accreditors are private, nongovernmental organizations created for the specific purpose of reviewing higher education institutions and programs for quality. In most other countries, accreditation (or quality assurance) is carried out by government organizations.

More than 8,200 degree-granting and non-degree-granting postsecondary institutions and 20,000 programs in the US are accredited by recognized United States Accrediting Organizations. The accrediting organizations recognized by the CHEA and the ED are:

N.B: The Cultural Division of the UAE Embassy authenticates only UAE citizens’ degrees, certificates, diplomas, transcripts, letters of completion, letters of achievement, and letters of enrollment verification from accredited US postsecondary institutions by one of the six Regional Accrediting Organizations. Also some programs require the accreditation of the appropriate Professional Accrediting Organization, such as Business Administration, Engineering, Computer Science, Education, Medicine, etc.

Regional Accrediting OrganizationsProfessional Accrediting Organizations