The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), also known as the North Central Association, was a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states engaged in
educational accreditation
Educational accreditation is a quality assurance process under which services and operations of educational institutions or programs are evaluated and verified by an external body to determine whether applicable and recognized standards are met. ...
. It was one of six
regional accreditation
Higher education accreditation in the United States is a peer review process by which the validity of degrees and credits awarded by higher education institutions is assured. It is coordinated by accreditation commissions made up of member ins ...
bodies in the U.S. and its
Higher Learning Commission
The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...
was recognized by the
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...
and the
Council for Higher Education Accreditation
The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) is a United States organization of degree-granting colleges and universities. It identifies its purpose as providing national advocacy for academic quality through accreditation in order t ...
(CHEA) as a regional accreditor for
higher education
Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...
institutions.
The organization was dissolved in 2014.
The primary and secondary education accreditation functions of the association have been merged into
AdvancED with the postsecondary education accreditation functions vested in the
Higher Learning Commission
The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...
.
See also
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References
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School accreditors
1895 establishments in Illinois
School accreditors in Chicago
College and university associations and consortia in the United States
Educational organizations based in the United States
2014 disestablishments in Illinois
Organizations established in 1895
Organizations disestablished in 2014