Accreditation is…

a concept based on self-regulation which focuses on evaluation and the continuing improvement of educational quality.

a process by which institutions or programs continuously upgrade their educational quality and services through self-evaluation and the judgment of peers.

a status granted to an educational institution or program which meets commonly accepted standards of quality or excellence.

The basic characteristics of accreditation are:

1. its prevailing sense of volunteerism;

2. its strong tradition of self-regulation;

3. its reliance on evaluation techniques;

4. its primary concern with quality.