EAHEA Institutional Online Accreditation
Online Accreditation is the institutional accreditation of EAHEA for open universities, distance learning centers, lifelong learning centers, online courses and similar organizations that teach by online methods. It gives the institution an independent, international review of how it is run and how it teaches, and a status that students, partners and employers can verify at any time.
Accreditation is a voluntary, comprehensive and objective process of external peer review, which determines whether an institution meets the standards of the accrediting body for institutional and educational quality and effectiveness. Around the world, it is one of the main ways in which students, families, government officials and the press can tell that an institution provides quality education.
Why Choose Online Accreditation?
- International recognition: an independent review against defined educational standards, with a status that anyone can check on the EAHEA website.
- Improvement: the self-assessment guided by the EAHEA standards helps your institution enhance its educational quality and its internal and administrative processes.
- Accredited Membership: your institution becomes a full member of EAHEA, without a separate application or a separate membership fee.
- Visibility and networking: a listing in the Institutional Members Directory, promotion by EAHEA and the opportunity to cooperate with accredited institutions in many countries.
- Continuing support: EAHEA monitors quality, welcomes feedback from students and stakeholders and supports the institution when it faces difficulties.
What Is the Online Accreditation Service?
This institutional accreditation service is for open universities, distance learning centers, lifelong learning centers, online courses and similar organizations that use online education methods. Online Accreditation covers the institution only (administration, organization, finances, educational system, student and alumni services and so on). It does not cover degrees, programs or courses.
To have a program or course accredited, your institution can apply for Program Accreditation or Course Accreditation for each program or course. These are independent services that can be applied for at any time, with or without Online Accreditation.
How to Apply for Online Accreditation
You apply online, answer the questions of the application and submit the supporting documents. The EAHEA Secretariat reviews the application, confirms the eligible options and guides you through the next steps, which are described on the Accreditation Process page. Start your application when you are ready.
Eligibility. To be eligible, your institution must have operated continuously and successfully for at least one year before applying and have graduated at least one class, must have been under the same ownership or control for at least one year, and must have a record of responsible financial management of at least one year. A newly established institution that does not yet meet these requirements may apply by submitting a goodwill letter addressed to EAHEA, and EAHEA decides at its discretion whether to accept the application. The full list of requirements is on the Accreditation Eligibility page.
The terms of this service are set out in the Terms and Agreement and in the EAHEA Institutional Accreditation Agreement, which EAHEA provides during the application process.
About the EAHEA Accreditation Status
1. EAHEA accreditation is not a substitute for legal regulation: Accreditation is a voluntary, non-governmental peer review process. Accreditation by EAHEA conveys only that the higher education institution meets the educational standards of EAHEA. It is not intended to substitute legal authorization, recognition or regulation under local government laws. Legal authorization, recognition or regulation, and government accreditation, are the subject of different reviews.
2. Institutional accreditation: Online Accreditation evaluates the institution as a whole. Programs and courses are accredited separately, through Program Accreditation and Course Accreditation. EAHEA accreditation may support the approval of specific programs, but it is not a license to practice a profession.
3. Global and international scope: EAHEA accreditation focuses on educational quality from a global and international perspective, and not on narrow interests, political action or educational fashions. EAHEA is aware that countries differ in how they meet the quality standards, and it therefore examines every higher education institution with respect for its institutional autonomy and under a non-discriminatory policy. Because of this global policy, EAHEA is not part of the governmental agencies of any country. The academic mobility and credit transferability of accredited institutions always remain subject to the policy of the receiving country or institution.
4. Accredited Membership of EAHEA: Online Accreditation gives your institution the right to Accredited Membership of EAHEA, which is a full membership, and makes it an Accredited Member automatically, without a separate application and without a separate membership fee. As an Accredited Member, your institution takes part in the determination of the management of EAHEA, has the right to vote at the General Assembly and has the other rights that the Articles of Association give to members. The Management Board decides whether a member with Accredited Membership (Full or Online Accreditation) or Associate Membership is admitted as a member of the General Assembly. The membership lasts for as long as the accreditation lasts, and it ends or is suspended with the accreditation if the accreditation is not renewed or is suspended or revoked.
5. Code of Ethics and use of the EAHEA name and logo: For as long as it is accredited, your institution complies with the rules of conduct that EAHEA sets in the Code of Ethics Declaration Form, and uses the EAHEA name, logo, emblem, seal and badges only as the Logo & Emblem Usage Guidelines allow. Both documents are available on the Documents & Forms page.
6. Contact details, checks and complaints: Your institution informs EAHEA within 30 days of any change in its contact details and keeps the information in the Institutional Contact Declaration & Update Form accurate, complete and up to date. If it does not, EAHEA may suspend the accreditation and the membership of your institution. EAHEA may check, with or without prior notice, whether your institution complies with its obligations, and your institution facilitates the check. EAHEA may examine any complaint about your institution that comes from a third party and may ask for an oral or written defense; depending on the seriousness of the complaint, the accreditation may be suspended or revoked. A suspended or revoked status is published in the public directory with a short reason for five years from the date of the decision. After that the institution is removed from the directory, and the records stay in the EAHEA archive.
7. Changes to your institution: A major change to the name, the legal status, the ownership or control, the legal address or the delivery mode of your institution is reviewed again by EAHEA, and a change fee is charged. Inform EAHEA before you put such a change into practice. Until the review is completed, EAHEA may suspend the accreditation. A minor change, such as a correction of a typing error or a change of contact details, needs only a notice and no fee.
Rights of EAHEA Accredited Institutions
EAHEA accredited institutions are entitled to:
- Announce their accreditation by EAHEA.
- Use the EAHEA name, logo, emblem, seal and badges as the Logo & Emblem Usage Guidelines allow.
- Receive an accreditation certificate.
- Be listed on the EAHEA website as an accredited member, with a link to their own website.
- Use the EAHEA monitoring and feedback services.
- Be informed periodically of any comments received on their behalf.
- Receive an invoice for tax deduction purposes.
- Promote their institution through the EAHEA Education Network.
- Receive the EAHEA news alerts and newsletter.
- Receive discounts for all EAHEA sponsored events.
- Be an Accredited Member of EAHEA with the right to vote at the General Assembly, once the Management Board admits the member to it, for as long as the accreditation lasts.
What Do You Get upon Online Accreditation?
- Online Accreditation Certificate
- Education Quality Certificate
- Education Quality Audit Report
- EAHEA Accredited Institution Seal and Badges
- Institutional Members Directory listing
- E-delivery news alerts and newsletter
- Discounts for all EAHEA sponsored events
- Accredited Membership of EAHEA (for as long as the accreditation lasts)
What Are the Online Accreditation Fees?
All service fees follow the World Bank Country Income Classification, and additional discounts may apply depending on the economic situation of the country in which your institution carries out most of its activity or in which it is legally established. For the Online Accreditation Fees, please visit the Service Fees page.
Payment: The price is paid in two steps: the Application Fee first, and the Accreditation Fee after EAHEA confirms your eligibility.
Renewal: The accreditation is valid for one year and is renewed each year. You pay the annual membership fee each year, and in every fifth service year you pay the renewal fee instead, which includes the re-accreditation review. The amounts are listed on the Service Fees page. An accreditation that is not renewed ends. Fees are not refundable, except an amount that was paid twice or by mistake. EAHEA may use third-party software and authorized intermediary companies for international taxation, invoicing and collection.
