Standards for Accreditation

The Standards are an articulation by the higher education community of what a college or university must do in order to deserve the public trust. They also function as a framework for institutional development and self-evaluation.

Covering eleven areas of institutional academic and administrative operations, the Standards are largely qualitative, in keeping with their need to apply to a variety of institutions with different missions. The Standards are updated at least every ten years, with the participation of member institutions, to reflect the Commission's heightened emphases and to anticipate future directions of the higher education community.

You can download the entire Standards for Accreditation (pdf version or html version) or review individual standards at the left of this page. Printed copies of the Standards may be purchased by contacting: cihe@neasc.org.