Established in 1996 by a referendum of college and university presidents, the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) is a private, nonprofit organization that coordinates accreditation activities in the United States. CHEA's mission is to serve its members, students, and society through advocacy for the value and independence of accreditation, recognition of accrediting organizations, and commitment to quality in higher education.
CHEA consists of over 3,000 degree-granting colleges and universities and recognizes 60 institutional and programmatic accrediting organizations. The organization offers databases and directories of higher education institutions and programs accredited by recognized U.S. accrediting organizations alongside newsletters, research, and other publications. CHEA does not accredit individual colleges or universities itself. Instead, it recognizes accrediting organizations (regional, institutional, national faith-related, or programmatic) that conduct the actual accreditation of institutions and programs. In effect, CHEA “accredits the accreditors.” As part of this “recognition” function, CHEA reviews these accrediting bodies on behalf of the public — evaluating their standards, governance, practices, transparency, effectiveness, fairness, and commitment to academic quality.
CHEA also serves as a strong advocacy voice for the value and independence of accreditation; it promotes institutional autonomy, academic freedom, and the institutional mission of higher-education institutions.
Additionally, CHEA collects and publishes data about accreditation, offers resources, convenes conferences and discussions on accreditation and quality assurance, and fosters communication among accrediting bodies, institutions, and programs.
Historically, CHEA’s core recognition functions focused on U.S. accrediting organizations and U.S. institutions/programs. According to a survey by CHEA in 1999–2000, many of the accrediting organizations recognized by CHEA at the time already did operate internationally, accrediting U.S. institutions abroad or non-U.S. institutions/programs (often virtually or by special arrangement). Nevertheless, until recently, the official recognition procedures and public emphasis of CHEA remained oriented largely toward the U.S. higher-education system. In August 2024, CHEA opened its recognition process to international accrediting organizations. These international bodies — if they meet the same rigorous standards CHEA applies to U.S. accreditors — may now be “recognized” by CHEA. This step makes CHEA part of the global quality-assurance conversation, enabling more international collaboration and extending its influence beyond U.S. borders. CHEA’s international affiliate, CHEA International Quality Group (CIQG), plays a role in this global outreach, serving as a forum for international accrediting organizations, consultants, and institutions to discuss quality assurance and accreditation. CHEA accepts applications from international accrediting organizations, applies its standards globally, and works toward broader global cooperation in higher-education quality assurance.
Examples of recent work:
CHEA. (2025). Home | Council for Higher Education. CHEA. Retrieved November 23, 2025, from https://www.chea.org/.