Accreditation is a uniquely American invention. It is one of the principal reasons that the United States has many of the most prestigious universities in the world, and one of the most robust public and private educational systems in the world.

Much like an inspector’s seal of approval, accreditation lets people know if they should have confidence in a college or school before enrolling or before authorizing tuition assistance.

Accreditation helps employers, prospective students and the general public in identifying quality educational institutions. Few students or companies have the resources or time to investigate the more than 6,000 educational institutions operating in the USA. Accreditation does the work of consumer protection and quality identification without government funding. It is a free public service to the nation.

Accreditation is important for many reasons, and the most important are: protecting the public from fraudulent diploma mills, helping students select institutions and programs that meet standards of academic quality and ensuring that American colleges, universities and schools remain among the finest in the world.