Accreditation

A Regionally Accredited University

Ohio University is fully accredited by The Higher Learning Commission (HLC), a Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The HLC is an independent corporation and one of two commission members of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), which is one of six regional institutional accreditors in the United States. The Higher Learning Commission accredits degree-granting post-secondary educational institutions in the North Central region.

The Higher Learning Commission
230 South LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500
Chicago, IL 60604
Phone: (800) 621-7440 / (312) 263-7462
http://www.ncahlc.org/

Understanding Accreditation

In the United States there are two types of institutional accreditation for colleges and universities, regional and national. The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) conducts institutional regional accreditation.

Regional accreditation is a measurement the US Department of Education (DOE) uses to ensure that schools meet rigorous and up-to-date standards of education and professionalism. All schools must be accredited, and their curriculum must pass approval with a DOE-approved accreditation board.

There are six regional associations, each named after the region in which it operates (Middle States, New England, North Central, Northwest, Southern, Western). The regional associations are independent of one another, but they cooperate extensively and acknowledge one another’s accreditation. National accreditation commissions’ focus on particular kinds of institutions (for example, trade and technical colleges, and religious colleges and universities), their standards are typically less defined when compared with regional accrediting bodies. An institutional accrediting agency evaluates an entire educational organization in terms of its mission and the agency’s standards or criteria.

One major disadvantage of a school being nationally accredited is the inability to transfer credits between multiple institutions if you choose to continue your education at a different school or in a different program. Ohio University is regionally accredited and because of these more defined educational standards, credits for similar courses will usually transfer between traditional colleges.