Accreditation is the recognition or validation of a specific institution by an impartial source. It is a uniquely American phenomenon. Educational institutions in most countries are controlled by the government and all are "accredited" because they are government run. Becoming accredited is a voluntary process in the U.S. which entails review of facilities, faculty, curriculum, library size, financial records, etc.

You cannot rely on the written or verbal statement from a prospective school that they are accredited. In and of itself that statement is meaningless. The key question is, "Which regional accrediting agency are you accredited by?"

The following four terms determine the legal status of a school:

1. ACCREDITED: There are two primary sources of

accreditation.

The first is governmental:
Accrediting Agency Evaluation Branch
Higher Education Management Services
Office of Postsecondary Education
U.S. Department of Education
Washington, DC 20202
(202) 708-7417

The second is private:
The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)
One Dupont Circle NW, Suite 510
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 955-6126
www.chea.org
Both of these agencies fully recognize any school accredited by one of the six regional accrediting boards listed later in this chapter. If your school is accredited by one of these six you will have no problem transferring your credits to any other institution and your degree will be nationally recognized as authentic.

2. APPROVED: (NOTE: This information is in a state of flux due to the current state of disarray in the California Legislature.)

Schools that are authorized to operate in a given state have state-approval. California is the only state that has "approved" institutions. Schools with state approval will probably not have their credits accepted by regionally accredited schools. If you plan to transfer from a state approved school to another regionally accredited school it is imperative that you check to see whether or not the credits are transferable? If you plan to get an undergraduate degree at an "approved" school and go on to graduate school, the same question must be asked. Otherwise you may find yourself locked-out of schools you are interested in.

3. AUTHORIZED: This is tantamount to granting a legal license to operate within a certain state. It is the minimum requirement of any school you choose to attend.

4. DIPLOMA MILLS: These are illegal schools that essentially sell worthless paper. Your entire future is in trouble if you fall for their deception.   Bear's Guide, in puplication for 25 years now,  exposes these fake schools. 

REGIONAL ACCREDITING

REGIONAL Accrediting Agencies and their geographic jurisdictions can be found with updates at the DOE site at: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/Students/file4a.html

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Commission of Institutions of Higher Education
3624 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 662-5606
http://www.msache.org/
Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands

State accreditation agencies are responsible for licensing or certifying public school teachers and accrediting the curricula used in teacher education classes. Should you have questions regarding a particular school or program within their jurisdiction, simply call for information.

ALABAMA
Commission of higher Education
3465 Norman Bridge Rd.
Montgomery, AL 36130
(334) 242-1998

ALASKA
Commission on Postsecondary Education
3030 Vintage Blvd.
Juneau, AK 99801
(907) 465-2962

ARIZONA
Main Higher Education Agency
Arizona Board of Regents
2020 North Central Ave., Suite 230
Phoenix, AZ 85004
(602) 229-2500
State Postsecondary Entity
(602) 229-2591

ARKANSAS
Department of Higher Education
Arkansas Department of Higher Education
114 East Capitol Ave.
Little Rock, AR 72201
(501) 371-2000

CALIFORNIA
Main Higher Education Agency
California Postsecondary Education Commission
1303 J. St.; Suite 500
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 445-7933

State Postsecondary Entity
(916) 332-7982
Council on Private, Postsecondary & Vocational Education
(evaluate unaccredited schools)
1027 10^th Street, Fourth Fl.
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 445-3427

COLORADO
Commission on Higher Education
1300 Broadway, 2^nd Floor
Denver, CO 80203
(303) 866-2723

CONNECTICUT
Board of Governors
61 Woodland St.
Hartford, CT 06105
(860) 566-5766

State Postsecondary Entity
(860) 566-4645

DELAWARE
Delaware Higher Education Commission
820 North French St.
Wilmington, DE 19801
(302) 577-3240

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Office of Postsecondary Education Research and Assistance
2100 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. S.E.
Suite 401
Washington, DC 20020
(202) 727-3685

State Postsecondary Entity
Office of Education
441 Fourth St. NW
Room 370-N
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 727-0248

FLORIDA
Postsecondary Education Planning Commission
Florida Education Center
Tallahassee, FL 323999
(904) 488-7894
State Postsecondary Entity
Florida Department of Education
1701 The Capitol
Tallahassee, FL 32399
(904) 488-1812

GEORGIA
Board of Regents
244 Washington St. S.W.
Atlanta, GA 30334
(404) 656-2202
State Postsecondary Entity
Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission
2100 East Exchange Place
Suite 203
Tucker, GA 30084
(407) 414-3307

HAWAII
University of Hawaii Board of Regents
2444 Dole St., Room 209
Honolulu, HI 96822
(808) 956-8213
State Postsecondary Education Commission
(808) 956-6862

Department of Consumer Protection
(808) 587-3222
[oversees unaccredited schools]

IDAHO
State Board of Education
650 W. State St.
Room 307
Boise, ID 83720
(208) 334-2270

ILLINOIS
Board of Higher Education
4 West Old Capitol Plaza, Room 500
Springfield, IL 62701
(217) 782-2551
State Postsecondary Entity
Illinois Student Assistance Commission
1755 Lake Cook Road
Deerfield, IL 60015
(708) 948-8500

INDIANA
Commission for Higher Education
101 West Ohio St., Suite 550
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 464-4400

IOWA
State Board of Regents
East 12^th Street & Grand
Des Moines, IA 50319
(515) 281-3934

KANSAS
Kansas Board of Regents
700 Southwest Harrison, Suite 1410
Topeka, KS 66603
(913) 296-0983

State Postsecondary Entity
Kansas State Board of Education
120 Southeast 10^th Avenue
Topeka, KS 66612
(913) 296-3204

KENTUCKY
Council on Post Secondary Education
1024 Capital Centre Drive, Suite 320
Frankfort, KY 40601
(502) 573-1555
State Postsecondary Entity

LOUISIANA
Board of Regents
150 Third St., Suite 129
Baton Rouge, LA 90801
(504) 342-4253
State Postsecondary Entity

Louisiana Postsecondary Review Commission
P.O. Box 94004
Baton Rouge, LA 70804
(504) 342-0998

MAINE
Department of Education
Division of Higher Education Services
State House, Station # 23
Augusta, ME 04333
(207) 287-5315

State Postsecondary Entity
Finance Authority of Maine
State House, Station 119
Augusta, ME 04333
(207) 287-2183

MARYLAND
Higher Education Commission
16 Francis Street
Annapolis, MD 21401
(410) 974-2971

MASSACHUSETTS
Higher Education Coordinating Council
One Ashburton Place, Room 1401
Boston, MA 02108
(517) 373-3324

MICHIGAN
State Department of Education
P.O. Box 30008
Lansing, MI 48909
(517) 335-4933

MINNESOTA
Minnesota Services Office
550 Cedar Street
Suite 400
St. Paul, MN 55101
(612) 296-9665

MISSISSIPPI
Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning
3825 Ridgewood Rd.
Jackson, MS 39211
(601) 982-6623

MISSOURI
Coordinating Board for Higher Education
3515 Amazonas Drive
Jefferson City, MO 65109
(573) 751-2361

MONTANA
Montana University System
2500 Broadway
Helena, MT 59620
(406) 444-6570

NEBRASKA
Coordinating Commission of Postsecondary Education
P.O. Box 95005
Lincoln, NE 68509
(402) 471-2847

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Postsecondary Education Commission
2 Industrial Park Drive
Concord, NH 03301

NEW JERSEY
Commission on Higher Education
20 West State St., CN542
P.O. Box 542
Trenton, NJ 08625
(609) 292-4310

NEW MEXICO
Commission on Higher Education
1068 Cerrillos Rd.
Santa Fe, NM 87501
(505) 827-7392

NEW YORK
State Education Department
Cultural Education Center
Room5B28
Albany, NY 12230
(518) 474-5851

State Postsecondary Entity
(518) 474-3896

NORTH CAROLINA
Commission on Higher Education Facilities
UNC General Administration
910 Raleigh Rd.
Box 2688
Chapel Hill, NC 27515
(919) 962-1000

State Postsecondary Entity
Postsecondary Eligibility Review Commission
130 Penmarc Drive
Suite 109
Raleigh, NC 27603
(919) 733-7535

NORTH DAKOTA
North Dakota University System
600 East Blvd.
Bismarck, ND 58505
(701) 328-2960