The Council for Higher Education Accreditation

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The Council for Higher Education Accreditation

Perhaps you have heard of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)? Many people have, but do not know much about this organization. CHEA is a non-government entity that participates in "recognizing" accreditors.

CHEA is actually a membership organization made up of over 3,000 colleges and universities. It also recognizes over 60 regional, national, and professional accrediting organizations.

The United States Department of Education (USDE) is officially in charge of "recognizing" accreditors. One of the main purposes of the USDE recognition is or the purposes of granting financial aid.

If a school is not accredited by a USDE "recognized" accreditor, the school will not be able to offer federal financial aid to it students.

While the United States Department of Education is the main recognizer of accrediting bodies, The Council for Higher Education Accreditation also performs this function. CHEA serves to sort of "second" the motion. The waters get muddied a little when they do not agree. However, what affect this non-agreement has is really unknown.

See the table below to see which accreditors are recognized by the USDE - United States Department of Education and CHEA - Council for Higher Education Accreditation:

Accrediting Organization	Abbrev.	CHEA	USDE
INSTITUTIONAL - Regional
Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools	MSACS	•	•
New England Association of Schools and Colleges	NEASC	•	•
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools	NCACS	•	•
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities	NWCCU	•	•
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools	SACS	•	•
Western Association of Schools and Colleges	WASC	•	•
INSTITUTIONAL - National
Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools	ACICS	•	•
Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council	DETC	•	•
PROFESSIONAL / SPECIALIZED
The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business	AACSB	•	*
Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs	ACBSP	•	*
The International Assembly of Collegiate Business Education	IACBE	-	-

• = currently recognized | * = formerly recognized | - = not recognized

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