Educational accreditation is a type of quality assurance process under which services and operations of an educational institution or program are evaluated by an external body to determine if applicable standards are met. If standards are met, accredited status is granted by the agency. In most countries in the world, the function of educational accreditation is conducted by a government organization, such as a ministry of education.

In the United States, however, the quality assurance process is independent of government and performed by private membership associations. When discussing accreditation in the United States, it is important that the concept of accreditation not be confused with the authority to operate. The authority to operate an educational entity in the U.S. is granted by each of the states individually.

The U.S. is a federal republic, and the federal government possesses only specific limited powers, with all others reserved to the states (pursuant to the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution). Therefore, the authority of the U.S. Department of Education does not extend to authorizing schools to operate, to enroll students, or to award degrees. In addition, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) is not responsible for accreditation of institutions, nor is the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), a non-governmental organization.

However, both recognize reputable accrediting agencies for institutions of higher education and provide guidelines as well as resources and relevant data.

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