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Higher-education accreditation is a quality assurance procedure wherein the services and operations of universities, colleges and degree programmes are reviewed to verify whether applicable standards are met. Accreditation is granted if standards are met.
Higher-education accreditation is typically managed by a government agency, most commonly a ministry of education. In the United States, however, the quality assurance process is run by nonprofit organisations overseen by the government. Generally, there are two types of accreditation in the United States. One is connected to geographical zone—that is, regional vs. national accreditation. The other is connected to the university itself—institutional vs. programmatic accreditation.