Accreditation

Designed to protect public health, safety, and interest, accreditation provides a system of quality assessment and improvement. In the United States, educational, human services, and health-care programs and institutions undergo accreditation review. Although each of these three sectors has unique accreditation processes, accreditation generally consists of a process of voluntary, external review that occurs and results in a decision based upon the institution’s consistency with accepted standards. This entry discusses the history of [Page 26]accreditation in the United States, the process of accrediting U.S. higher education institutions, criticisms of the accreditation system in higher education, and supporters’ responses to these criticisms.

Many accrediting practices provide recommendations to increase compliance and, therefore, offer opportunities for program improvement to those undergoing review. The accreditation process has evolved over the years in the United States and offers advantages and disadvantages for higher education and other professional entities. Accreditation started in higher education in the late 19th century as a way to verify student qualifications for entry into colleges and universities. This led to the formation of regional groups of higher education administrators to evaluate secondary education practices.

The federal government entered accreditation with the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, commonly known as the GI Bill, in 1944 by providing educational funding for World War II servicemen. In 1952, this legislation was reauthorized and included a process of peer review to establish the legitimacy for institutions offering educational services. Since then, the role of the federal government has continued through legislation enacted, establishing the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1953. In 1979, when the U.S. Department of Education (ED) was created, the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was separated. The ED is designated to establish educational policy, to coordinate federal assistance to the educational enterprise, to enforce civil rights legislation in education, and to collect information on schools within the United States.

The emphasis placed on actions by the ED is to promote achievement of students and make schools accountable. The ED does not establish academic institutions or programs, nor does it perform accreditation. However, the Higher Education Act (1965) and subsequent amendments to the Higher Education Opportunity Act (2008) authorize the U.S. secretary of education to publish lists of recognized accrediting agencies. These recognized accrediting bodies not only provide ratings of educational quality, but many also allow students to access federal funding established by Title IV in the Higher Education Act. Specifically, Title IV authorizes programs to accept government monies to allow access to higher education; this funding requires state licensure of the institution and accreditation by an ED-recognized accreditor.

In addition to the ED, the Council for Higher Education Accreditation provides recognition of accrediting agencies. Council for Higher Education Accreditation, a voluntary membership organization with more than 3,000 institutions represented, establishes the quality of agencies that accredit programs and institutions that are regional, faith-based, career-focused, and specialty/programmatic in nature.