What is Accreditation?
Accreditation is an evaluation process that universities undergo voluntarily, as an institution or for certain programs of study or disciplines. It is carried out by teams of peers or professors from various educational institutions following norms or standards that are considered good practices that help maintain and strengthen the institution, the quality of its academic offerings and the processes that support the academy.
Importance of Accreditation
Accreditation generates confidence in the value of degrees awarded by an accredited institution. In addition, it can facilitate the transfer of credits between universities.
Types of Accreditation
Institutional Accreditation - Institutional accreditation is a comprehensive evaluation of the institution and its academic and administrative effectiveness, with a specific focus on internal quality and general management systems, policies and practices, and their effect on the quality of all programs and services offered. This accreditation is provided by a regional or national accreditation group recognized by the United States Department of Education (USDE), the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), or both.
Specialized Accreditation - Specialized accreditation relates to different academic programs and is granted by the various professional organizations who review particular programs within higher education institutions.
Institutional Accreditation
Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)
In 1944, the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico was accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and was the first liberal arts college to receive such accreditation in Puerto Rico and outside the continental United States. Since then, the accreditation has been reaffirmed continuously to the present by the same organization, now under its new name Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
For more information you can access the following web page www.msche.org
Government Licensing Agency
Board of Post-Secondary Institutions of Puerto Rico (JIPPR)
The Board of Postsecondary Institutions of Puerto Rico has as its essential purpose to keep a school registry of private basic education schools and to grant operating licenses to Postsecondary Non-University and Vocational Technical Education (PSNUTV) institutions and to private and public postsecondary institutions. In addition, its main purpose is to accredit public and private basic education institutions that request it.
(Taken from web: web site: CEPR)
Inter-American University has academic programs for which there are particular accrediting agencies. Some of the agencies that currently grant accreditation to our programs are:
- Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET)
- Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN)
- Accreditation Council for Business School and programs (ACBSP)
- Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE)
- American Bar Association (ABA)
- Aviation Accreditation Board International (AABI)
- Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE)
- Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)
- Council for the Accreditation of Education Preparation (CAEP)
- Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Program (COA)
- Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)
- Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)
- International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE)
- International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET)
- International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
- Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT)
- National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Science (NAACLS)
- Network of International Business Schools (NIBS)
For more information about accreditation at Inter-American University, please call the Office of Accreditation, Licensing and Curricular Information at (787) 766-1912, ext. 2313.