ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an overview of accreditation at the regional and programmatic levels before moving on to a comparison of the regional accrediting bodies. Accreditation is a complex process that requires participation from all arenas of the institution: administration, faculty, staff, students, and other stakeholders. As it takes multiple people working in sync to accomplish accreditation tasks, the chapter describes the key roles and responsibilities of those who should be involved along with financial considerations. The chapter discusses the recent and major changes in higher education that have had—or ultimately will have—an impact on institutions. Postsecondary accreditation is conducted by a number of private organizations whose sole purposes are to review and evaluate the quality of institutions and programs within defined regions or areas. Establishing standards of quality are evident across all accreditation agencies, of which there are four types: regional accreditors, faith-based accreditors, private career accreditors and programmatic accreditors.
