Accreditation ensures that institutions of higher education or in some cases, specific academic programs achieve and maintain a level of performance, integrity, and quality that entitles them to the confidence of the educational community and public they serve.
Although accreditation is basically a private, voluntary process, accrediting decisions are used as a consideration in many formal actions by governmental funding agencies, scholarship commissions, foundations, employers, counselors, and potential students. Accrediting bodies have come to be viewed as quasi-public entities with important responsibilities to the many groups who interact with the educational community. Nevertheless, all institutions or academic programs have undertaken accreditation activities primarily to ensure that the students attending an institution or the members of the profession have received the highest level of educational preparation possible.