Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)
CHEA is a, “national advocate and institutional voice for self-regulation of academic quality through accreditation; CHEA is an association of 3,000 degree-granting colleges and universities and recognizes 60 institutional and programmatic accrediting organizations” (“About Council for Higher Ed Acc.”). CHEA is also the, “largest institutional higher education membership organization in the United States, and it is governed by a 20-person board of college and university presidents, institutional representatives and public members” (“About Council for Higher Ed Acc.”). CHEA’s primary purpose is to act as an advocate for, “voluntary accreditation and quality assurance to the United States Congress and the United States Department of Education” (“About Council for Higher Ed Acc.”). This action is important for many reasons. However, the most important reason is access to federal funding through proper accreditation.
U.S. accreditation can be a long and difficult process. According to CHEA (n.d.), accreditation, “is a collegial process of self-review and peer review for improvement of academic quality and public accountability of institutions and programs.” The quality review process occurs on a continual basis, typically every 3-10 years (“Council for Higher Ed Acc.”). The process requires,
“a self-study by an institution or program using the standards or criteria of an accrediting organization. A peer review of an institution or program to gather evidence of quality. A decision or judgment by an accrediting organization to accredit, accredit with conditions or not accredit an institution or program” (“Council for Higher Ed Acc.”).
Additionally, accreditation is voluntary, and, as mentioned earlier, the primary purpose for accreditation is for students to receive federal funding for schools. If an organization is not accredited, then students are not allowed to receive federal funding (i.e., pell grants, federal loans).
As an advocate (lobbying group), CHEA conducts research, publishes articles, and openly communicates information to the public about accreditation issues, and diploma mills. One such research report was detailed Degree Mills: An Old Problem and a New Threat. The cusp of the report was to show how diploma mills create high financial burdens for students, their families, and the local economy after students of these institutions have graduated. The majority of students are not able to secure gainful employment and are hampered by the vast amounts of student loans they acquired. Thus, many of these students default on their loans.
Another issue for CHEA, concerning diploma mills, was how the federal government creates loan limitations, or restrictions, on lending after these diploma mills are caught (“Council for Higher Ed Acc.”). The federal government acts in a reactive manner and they tend to implement consequences that harm all students and not the diploma mills in general. CHEA feels that such actions could be prevented through better accreditation standards, but the reports did not give great details into how that should be achieved.
In conclusion, CHEA has a huge say when it comes to federal loans, access to lending, and what, if any, regulations should be applicable to students and institutions today.
About Council for Higher Education Accreditation. (n.d.). Retrieved from, http://www.chea.org/default.asp.
Council for Higher Education Accreditation. (n.d.). Retrieved October 14, 2011, from http://www.chea.org/degreemills/frmPaper.htm
