Accreditation Handbook

The decisions to apply for accreditation and to continue through the accreditation process are voluntary. Applicant institutions for initial accreditation or reaccreditation may at any time drop out of the accreditation process, subject to their continuing obligation for the payment of any required fees and already incurred expenses.

As mentioned in our Objective, peer review lies at the core of the accreditation process for institutions of higher education worldwide. At the same time, QAHE shares with other accrediting organizations and educational regulators the recognition that peer review by its nature is susceptible to subjectivity, potential conflicts of interest, and human error or bias. The accreditation processes and procedures developed by QAHE have been carefully designed to safeguard the integrity and quality of institutional and program reviews.

The right of due process does not mean that the QAHE will agree with or accept an institution’s response or recommendations. In addition, the burden of proof in demonstrating compliance with the standards rests with the institution at each stage of QAHE’s evaluation and decision process and through any appellate process exercised by an institution.

Institutions that elect to seek accreditation from QAHE or have been accredited by QAHE must agree in writing to be bound by and comply with the terms of published policies, standards, and procedures, including those set forth in the QAHE Accreditation Handbook.

Successful completion of any one step is required before an institution can proceed to the next step; however, successful completion of a prior step does not guarantee successful completion of any subsequent step. Applying for accreditation or reaccreditation is a voluntary process. Accordingly, an institution may at any time during its pursuit of accreditation decide to withdraw from the process and end its application.

QAHE reserves the right to limit its accreditation process to the kinds of institutions and types of programs that are within its scope of expertise and to decline to consider institutions and programs for accreditation that are outside QAHE’s scope or competence or where other circumstances do not permit a meaningful evaluation. The institution assumes the burden of proof in demonstrating that its curricula, operating structure, and method of delivery are within QAHE’s recognized scope of authority.

Accreditation is a voluntary, non-governmental peer review process. Accreditation by the QAHE shall be understood to convey only that the higher education institution meets the QAHE´s educational standards. Such recognition is not in any way intended to substitute legal authorization, recognition or regulation, through compliance with local government laws. Legal authorization, recognition or regulation, and government accreditation occur in the context of different reviews.

Eligibility Criteria

  1. An educational institution or provider is defined by QAHE as an educational institution or organization whose primary purpose is providing education or training that:
  2. formally enrolls students and maintains student records;
  3. retains qualified faculty to service students;
  4. provides educationally sound and up-to-date curricula that are supported by quality instructional materials and appropriate technology; and
  5. provides continuous two-way communication on student work, e.g., evaluating students’ examinations, projects, and/or answering queries, with timely feedback given to students.
  6. The institution has clearly articulated outcomes for its educational offerings and has an ongoing outcomes assessment program in place designed to measure student achievement and satisfaction.
  7. The institution maintains a permanent physical facility that supports its educational offerings and business operations in a professional setting. The facility is maintained at a fixed geographic location that is appropriately licensed or authorized, as required by local and state regulatory authorities.
  8. The institution demonstrates that its name is free from any association with any activity that could damage the standing of QAHE or of the accrediting process, such as illegal actions, unethical conduct, or abuse of consumers.
  9. The institution and the institution’s owners, governing board members, officials, and administrators possess sound reputations and show a record of integrity and ethical conduct in their professional activities, business operations, and relations. The owners, governing board members, officials, and administrators have records free from any association with any malfeasance, including, but not limited to, owning, managing, or controlling any educational institutions that have entered bankruptcy or have closed, to the detriment of the students.

Evaluation Procedure

The first step is the submission of application form by the applicant institution with a completed Self-Evaluation Report. Certificate of Incorporation/Registration and/or the ID Card/Passport main page and CV of the owner shall be provided to the Committee as well. Your website, curriculum, teaching staff’s qualifications will be critically reviewed.

In order to save costs and time, an “on-site” visit will be conducted virtually. The Committee may rely on virtual on-site visits and treat them as equivalent to actual on-site visits in connection with any of its decision-making processes.

Accreditation Standards Approved by the Accreditation Committee

  1. All member universities must provide students with books lists, library services, computer services and/or access to instructional materials required for the completion of the degree program.
  2. A member institution must have a proper and adequate system of student performance assessment.
  3. A member institution must develop acceptable course content for each and every course offered and for each and every degree program. This
  4. content must reflect the goals and objectives of the course or the degree program, how evaluation is to be carried out and expectations for
  5. anticipated student performance.
  6. All members of the QAHE must engage in the self-evaluation of programs, the assessment of the faculty and administrative staff and the reviewing of
  7. the relationship between the curriculum and the goals of instruction.
  8. A member institution should provide assistance, support, counseling, supervision of instruction, and other services appropriate to the student’s educational goals.
  9. A member university must make its financial resources of public record and must maintain sufficient capital income to sustain student enrollments and degree programs.
  10. The institution must include a written statement of its policy on nondiscrimination including (but not necessarily limited to) race, sex, and national origin.
  11. Appropriate materials such as catalogues, curriculum guides and other official documents must be submitted by the new member school for evaluation.
  12. Accreditation is offered for a one-year period and is renewable upon further evaluation at the end of the accreditation period. In addition, member universities are monitored during the period they are accredited and QAHE may forfeit their accreditation if they do not consistently adhere to the guidelines, rules and regulations of the organization.
  13. The faculty of the member universities must hold diplomas in the appropriate subject area for which they have been employed to teach or counsel students.
  14. Life-work experience credit may be accepted by the member universities based on accurate and verifiable information submitted by the student.
  15. Students must be given curriculum, courses of study and other materials appropriate to the plan of their degree program.
  16. The faculty of the member universities must hold diplomas in the appropriate subject area for which they have been employed to teach or counsel students.
  17. A clearly defined and published statement of mission, formally adopted by the governing board, which demonstrates that the fundamental purposes of the institution are educational, appropriate to a degree-granting institution, and appropriate to the needs of the constituencies it seeks to serve.
  18. The institution must include in its published catalogue/webpage a set of admission policies that guide the admission department in admitting students.
  19. A catalogue and/or other comparable official webpages available to students and the public that honestly and accurately sets forth pertinent information.

Program Accreditation

This accreditation type is only for accredited universities, educational institutes, vocational institutions, online courses, etc., and includes a specific program/course (MA, MS, MBA, LLM, DBA, etc.) that has a curriculum. If you want to get an accreditation for your programs, you must apply to Program Accreditation for each program after applying for Institutional Accreditation.

Accreditation Fees

The institution of education applying for accreditation to the QAHE must pay the accreditation fee once the eligibility has been confirmed by the QAHE Secretary, and before any actual evaluation of the accreditation process starts.

Fee Schedule (2023-2024)

  • Initial Accreditation Fee for the first year – US$600*
  • Annual Accreditation Renewal Fee – US$600*
  • Programmatic Accreditation Fee – US$250* each course/US$350* for two courses
  • Fee for each additional Branch – US$250*

*Additional 5% PayPal charges required to be paid by the payers

Benefit of getting QAHE Accreditation

  • Once you are accredited with QAHE, you will receive a QAHE Accredited Logo (JPG/PNG) which can be used on your website, official documents and other various marketing collaterals.
  • The accreditation certificate and report in digital format (PDF) will be a proof of achieving QAHE accreditation. You can promote QAHE Accreditation using this certificate on different promotional platforms.
  • Promotion opportunity at our website. The promotion of your institutions will be based on availability and needs of QAHE to enhance the global recognition of your institute.
  • Online Listing and Verification is available at QAHE Website for all the accredited institutions.

Timeframe and Branches

It takes around 7-10 working days to process if there is no delay for the payment. For more information, please feel free to contact us at accreditation@qahe.org for guidance. We keep our accreditation fee low in order to serve the sector of higher education the best, but please bear in mind that each accreditation certificate is only for one institution in a single location, therefore, extra nominal fee will be charged for each branch accreditation.

Five Areas of Inspection

  • Academic Quality and Integrity
  • Teaching Staff Qualifications
  • Delivery of Programs
  • Students Services
  • Website Design and Performance

On-going compliance of accrediting organization requirement is essential, otherwise the accreditation status will be disqualified. Accredited institutions can use the QAHE logo and QAHE promotional materials for the duration of their accrediting agency.

Complaint Against Accredited Institutions

While the International Association for Quality Assurance in Pre-Tertiary and Higher Education, like other accrediting agencies worldwide, is interested in assuring that accredited programs maintain their quality and continue to meet QAHE standards, neither QAHE nor its Accreditation Committee is a mediator for consumer complaints against institutions or programs of study. QAHE is an accrediting body, not a regulator or an appellate panel for student or faculty grievances. Our Accreditation Committee will accept and evaluate complaints against accrediting agency programs in connection with annual review of program conformity or reaccreditation processes where there are serious allegations that a program may not be in conformity with QAHE standards.

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