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Database of Institutions and Programs Accredited by Recognized United States Accrediting Organizations The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) database lists more than 8,200 To be recognized means that the accreditors in the database have been reviewed by CHEA or USDE and meet the quality standards of the respective organizations. The primary purpose of CHEA recognition is to assure and strengthen academic quality and ongoing quality improvement in courses, programs and degrees. CHEA recognition is based on five standards that may be found in the CHEA Recognition Policy and Procedures. The primary purpose of USDE recognition is to assure that federal student aid funds are purchasing quality courses and programs. USDEs recognition is based on ten standards that include attention to, e.g., fiscal and administrative capacity as well as recruitment and admissions practices. These standards may be found at http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/ accred/accreditation_pg13.html (Part 602, Subpart 602.16: Secretarys Recognition of Accrediting Agencies). As of January 2005, USDE publishes a database of Postsecondary Educational Institutions and Programs Accredited by Accrediting Agencies and State Approval Agencies Recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education. This is available at www.ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. The database lists approximately 6,900 postsecondary institutions and programs, each of which is accredited by an accrediting organization recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as a reliable authority as to the quality of postsecondary education within the meaning of the U.S. federal Higher Education Act of 1965. Some accrediting organizations and their institutions and programs appear in both the CHEA database and the USDE database. Others may appear in one but not both. Whether in the CHEA or USDE database, accrediting organizations identified in the database have been recognized. For a list of all accrediting organizations recognized by CHEA or USDE, please click here for the Recognition Chart. Accreditors exercise independent judgment about whether to seek CHEA recognition. CHEA recognized organizations must meet CHEA eligibility standards. If the accrediting organization has USDE recognition, accreditation from the organization is used by an institution or program to establish eligibility to participate in federal student aid or other federal programs. Some accreditors cannot be considered for USDE recognition because they do not provide access to federal funds. Other accreditors have chosen not to pursue USDE recognition. Because CHEA and USDE recognition both depend on a range of factors, users of the CHEA database are cautioned against making judgments about the quality of an accrediting organization and its institutions or programs based solely on inclusion in one database or the other. Additional inquiry is essential. Users are urged to contact the accrediting organization, institution or program for additional information. As more fully set forth in the User Agreement for Publications of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), the CHEA database is provided as a public service without warranty of any kind. The database does not constitute an endorsement by CHEA of institutions or programs contained in it. Before you may use the CHEA institutions and programs database, you must first read and agree to the terms and conditions as spelled out below. | |||||
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