The Council for Higher Education Accreditation

The Council for Higher Education Accreditation, or CHEA, is a national advocate and institutional voice that certifies the academic quality of accreditation agencies; basically, they are the accreditation agency of accreditation agencies. An accreditation agency's viability relies heavily on the support of CHEA and the U.S. Department of Education.

When checking the accreditation of your school, it is important to make sure that your school is accredited by a reputable accreditation agency, such as the Six Regional Accreditation Agencies or the National Accreditation Agency. CHEA recognizes that just like there are degree mills, there are also accreditation mills out there, trying to offer fraudulent services to students that lead to an inferior education.

The two goals of CHEA (http://www.chea.org/About/CI/index.asp) are quoted as follows:

(1) To further strengthen accreditation, thereby enhancing public confidence and trust in self-regulation and;
(2) To refocus federal oversight of accreditation more directly on issues related to institutional viability and the use of federal funds, rather than the academic policy issues that are primarily the province of colleges and universities.

CHEA has recognized 59 accreditation organizations. Several of these organizations are specifically designed to accredit a class of schools and are not as well-known as the major ones.

Unlike the U.S. Department of Education, CHEA is an international quality review committee. They assess accreditation agencies that span across several countries, increasing the compatibility of unit transferability for students that study abroad.