ABSTRACT
Accreditation in the United States is a communal process of assessing educational quality and promoting improvement in post-secondary education. Approximately 100 non-governmental institutional and professional bodies accredit institutions or programmes using agreed standards, in-depth self-studies, and site visits by a team of peers. The value of accreditation for students, funding agencies, professions and employers and for the institutions themselves is reviewed. The meaning of accredited status, and the role of the American Council on Postsecondary Accreditation (COPA) in ‘accrediting the accreditors’ are explained.
