In the accreditation process, an objective external group examines and evaluates an educational program or institution to ensure that it is meets the standards published by an accrediting body. Experts in the field typically establish these standards. The process involves a review of a school's faculty, budgets, infrastructure, recruiting practices, admissions procedures, course content, and other pertinent issues. Some accreditation models put additional emphasis on demonstration of data collection and data analysis, and on purposeful usage of these data to improve the educational and administrative processes.

Accreditation bodies often require that a periodic renewal of the accreditation credential. Institutions and programs are thus encouraged to maintain high standards and to strive for continual improvement that would guarantee their standing as accredited. At its best accreditation thus serves to maintain high quality and is recognized by academic institutions as a positive element that contributes to the enhancement of their programs and to public recognition.

Accrediting bodies can differ in many ways: in their philosophical underpinnings; in the scope and nature of the criteria they use; in the means by which they develop these standards; in the way that they measure compliance with these standards; and in the methods with which they recruit and train their accreditation teams. There are several types of accrediting bodies including voluntary associations based on membership, government or government-commissioned organizations, rectors’ conferences, inter-institutional networks, and professional organizations.

University Vs. Program Accreditation
It is important to distinguish between university accreditation and program accreditation. Program accreditation, such as the programs listed in our university search engine, are specific to a degree and a subject – such as Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering.

Resources on this Site
On this site we provide a list of recognized accrediting bodies as well as program search capability that allows users to search for accredited programs in engineering, technology, and computing.

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