Accreditation

The goal of accreditation is to ensure that institutions of higher education meet acceptable levels of quality. Accreditation in the United States is primarily administered by non-governmental accrediting agencies, which are educational associations of regional or national scope. These agencies develop evaluation criteria and conduct peer evaluations to assess whether or not those criteria are met. Institutions and/or programs that request an agency's evaluation and that meet an agency's criteria are then considered accredited by that agency.

The Missouri Department of Higher Education does not accreditpostsecondary institutions, although some institutions (e.g. for-profit/proprietary) must meet other certification requirements to operate in the state. Further information on the certification process may be found here. In addition, further information on unaccredited “diploma mills”, may be found here.

Regional accrediting agencies evaluate and accredit at the institutional level. There are six regional accrediting agencies in the U.S., and regional accreditation in the midwest is administered by the Higher Learning Commission. All public and most independent/non-profit institutions in Missouri are regionally accredited.

National/specialized accrediting agencies may also accredit at the institutional level and/or may accredit individual curricula, degree, and certificate programs within the institution. Many proprietary/for-profit vocational and technical institutions in Missouri are nationally accredited. In addition, regionally accredited institutions may also have nationally accredited programs in specific fields, again often vocational and technical in nature.

In order to be sure the accrediting group is reliable, you should be sure the accreditation is granted by an association recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Both entities maintain a database of recognized regional and national accrediting agencies, and the institutions accredited.

The U.S. Department of Education does not accredit educational institutions and/or programs. However, the Secretary of Education is required by law to publish a list of nationally recognized accrediting agencies that the Secretary determines to be reliable authorities as to the quality of education or training provided by the institutions of higher education and the higher education programs they accredit. The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) is a private nonprofit national organization that coordinates accreditation activities in the United States. CHEA is the only non-governmental higher education organization that formally scrutinizes and certifies the quality of accrediting organizations.

Again, the MDHE does not accredit institutions or programs in Missouri, and the MDHE does not advise employers in regards to how accreditation information should be applied in employment, tuition reimbursement, or other decisions. The MDHE does encourage the fair evaluation of student transfer credit from institutions accredited by recognized national/specialized accrediting agencies.

Further questions on accreditation or accrediting agencies may be directed to the academic affairs division of the MDHE at 751-5221.