Institutional Accreditation

Accreditation is an incredibly important facet of your education. Most define accreditation as a status that shows an HEI has met and is maintaining a high level of standards set by an accrediting agency. 

Accreditation is a voluntary evaluation process that institutions of higher education undergo in order to maintain standards of educational quality agreed upon by members of an accrediting body. Accreditation assessments may include self-study on the part of the institution as well as evaluations by representatives of peer institutions who belong to the same accrediting agency.

Higher Education Council provides institutional accreditation to HEIs.

For institutional accreditation, representatives from dedicated accrediting institutions evaluate colleges and universities. This is a means for colleges and universities to assess their own performance and compare themselves with other schools.

If a school is awarded accreditation means that the institution meets certain standards of educational quality.

Institutional accreditation is not necessarily a guarantee that credits will transfer between institutions, although it does make it far more likely. Students can check with the program to which they wish to transfer to see if credits will be accepted. Attending an accredited program also carries numerous other benefits. Students at institutionally accredited organizations are eligible for federal financial aid, and employers are much more likely to recognize accredited degree programs. Furthermore, having undergone an accreditation process means that the institution meets a high standard of educational quality.

Institutional accreditation

1. Covers the institution as a whole
2. Has quality standards that are usually broader and are rarely prescriptive in terms of specific ways in which an institution must show compliance
3. Affects how easily students can transfer credit from institution to institution (a common example is a student who starts his or her post-secondary education at a community college, and later transfers to a four-year university)
4. Is managed by the institution’s Accreditation Liaison Officer, often the chief academic officer or head of institutional effectiveness

Accreditation is a voluntary process, and preparing an accreditation report can be labor-intensive. Most accreditors recommend that institutions start preparing their accreditation report about two years in advance of the due date. Despite the time commitment and the voluntary nature of the process, the vast majority of institutions choose to pursue and maintain their accreditation for two important reasons.

Institutional accreditation is helpful when students want to transfer to another institution. Students from non-accredited institutions will generally have a harder time getting their transfer credits accepted at another institution. Many students now attend multiple institutions, either sequentially or concurrently, so the ease with which they can transfer their credits has become important.

In the case you are interested in our institutional accreditation service, please send us an email at: accreditation@hec-sy.com