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History and Context of Accreditation in the United States

In the United States, institutions of higher education are permitted to operate with considerable independence and autonomy. The United States has no Ministry of Education or other centralized federal authority exercising control over the quality of postsecondary educational institutions, and the states assume varying degrees of control over education. As a consequence, American educational institutions can vary widely in the character and quality of their programs. To ensure a basic level of quality, the practice of accreditation arose in the United States as a means of conducting nongovernmental, peer evaluation of educational institutions and programs. With the passage of the HEA in 1965, Congress expanded accreditors role by entrusting them with ensuring academic quality of the educational institutions at which federal student aid funds may be used subject to oversight by the federal government through the recognition process. Private educational associations of regional or national scope have adopted criteria intended to reflect 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. Although accreditors promulgate standards to ensure institutional quality, the accreditors have no legal control over educational institutions or programs.

Under the HEA, the Department does not have the authority to recognize accrediting bodies for the accreditation of private or public elementary and secondary schools. 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 accreditors accreditation of postsecondary institutions or programs.

Some Important Fucitions to Keep in Mind:

Assess the quality of academic programs at institutions of higher education
Create a culture of continuous improvement of academic quality at colleges and universities and stimulate a general raising of standards among educational institutions
Involve faculty and staff comprehensively in institutional evaluation and planning
Establish criteria for professional certification and licensure and for upgrading courses offering such preparation