What is the difference between regional and national accreditation?
Institutional accreditation is provided by regional and national associations of schools and colleges. There are six regional associations: Middle States, New England, North Central, Northwest, Southern, and Western. The associations are independent of one another, but they cooperate and acknowledge one another’s accreditation. An accrediting agency evaluates an entire educational organization in terms of its mission, and the agency’s criteria. The organization is accredited as a whole. The accrediting agency evaluates such things as governance and administration, financial stability, admissions and student services, institutional resources, student learning, institutional effectiveness, and relationships with internal and external constituencies. (Institutional Accreditation: An Overview, the Higher Learning Commission, 2003).
