The Council for Higher Education Accreditation is a private organization that advocates setting and achieving standards for academic achievement and quality postsecondary educational institutions. CHEA, as it is more commonly referred to, is a widely recognized source that approves 60 different accrediting organizations for colleges and universities, and for specific programs within those schools. Prospective students can visit CHEA’s website to research the validity of the accrediting organization that has approved their school’s curriculum and overall structure. CHEA is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as "the only nongovernmental higher education organization that scrutinizes the quality of regional, national, and specialized accrediting organizations," according to the U.S. Department of Education’s site on diploma mills and accreditation.
CHEA features a directory of recognized accrediting organizations according to CHEA’s standards, as well as a database of institutions and programs accredited by recognized U.S. accrediting organizations, including the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education on its website .The information in these listings is categorized into four main categories: regional accrediting organizations, national faith-related accrediting organizations, national career-related accrediting organizations, and programmatic accrediting organizations, which evaluate specific programs within a college or university. Prospective students who want to use the database to search for all accrediting agencies approved by CHEA or other U.S. organizations can type in their institution’s name and its geographical location. To verify a school’s claim to accreditation, students can also choose to select a specific accrediting agency along with typing in the name of the institution.
In addition to approving these accrediting agencies and listing them on the CHEA website, the Council for Higher Education Accreditation has a campaign to inform the public about the importance of accreditation for postsecondary schools. Visitors to this part of the CHEA website will find a definition of accreditation, as well as an overview of the people and organizations responsible for accreditation and the general process of how an institution achieves accreditation.
