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Accreditation

Accreditation

Boise State is accredited regionally and nationally by agencies approved by the U.S. Department of Education. You can’t get a better recommendation than that.

NWCCU

The university as a whole is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, which is charged with measuring and vouching for the academic integrity of postsecondary educational institutions in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington “and the accreditation of such programs offered via distance education within these institutions.”

CAEP council for the accreditation of educator preparation logo

Boise State’s online graduate programs in Educational Technology are accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Preparation. CAEP is also is approved by the U.S. Department of Education.

How do you measure credibility?

In 1952, the U.S. Department of Education created eight regional accrediting agencies to assure the quality of America’s schools and colleges. In 1974, three more were added.

Basically, accreditation means acceptance. It means that academic credits earned at an accredited college or university are recognized by other institutions as having met a standard of quality. Accreditation is what makes college credits transferable to other institutions, and what makes degrees valuable.

If you’d like to know more about accreditation, we invite you to review the U.S. Department of Education’s website.

What to look for?

A master’s degree is an advanced academic degree, so potential online students looking around for a suitable graduate school should look for accreditation by one of the federally recognized accrediting agencies listed below. If you want a “college degree,” make sure the institution is accredited by one of the agencies below.

If you’re looking for online education, look at the web address. Does it end in .edu or in .com? Unaccredited institutions likely are dot-coms. Real college and university websites typically end in .edu.

Look at the website. Is it a public institution? If so, it is likely accredited.

Here are the regional accrediting agencies chartered by the federal government:

  • Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. (The agency that accredits Boise State.)
  • Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Higher Education
  • New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Commission on Institutions of Higher Education
  • New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Commission on Technical and Career Institutions
  • North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, The Higher Learning Commission
  • North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement, Board of Trustees
  • Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  • Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges
  • Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting Commission for Schools
  • Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities

For more on accreditation or on complaint resolution, please see the Office of the Provost.