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 MSCHE operational area | |
| Abbreviation | MSCHE |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1887 |
| Legal status | Association |
| Purpose | Higher education accreditation in the United States |
| Headquarters | Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. |
Region served | Delaware,Washington, D.C.,Maryland,New Jersey,New York,Pennsylvania,Puerto Rico,U.S. Virgin Islands and international locations |
Board president | Heather F. Perfetti |
| Affiliations | CHEA andED |
| Website | www.msche.org |
TheMiddle States Commission on Higher Education (abbreviated asMSCHE), legally incorporated as theMid-Atlantic Region Commission on Higher Education, is a voluntary, peer-based,non-profit membership organization that performs peer evaluation andaccreditation ofpublic andprivateuniversities andcolleges in the United States and foreign higher education institutions. Its headquarters are inWilmington, Delaware.[1]
Until federal regulations changed in July 2020, it was considered one of the sevenregional accreditation organizations dating back 130 years. The commission is recognized by theU.S. Department of Education and theCouncil for Higher Education Accreditation. It accredits nearly 600 institutions, primarily inDelaware,Washington, D.C.,Maryland,New Jersey,New York,Pennsylvania,Puerto Rico, and theU.S. Virgin Islands.
The Middle States Commission on Higher Education is recognized by theU.S. Department of Education to accredit degree-granting institutions. Its traditional region includes the U.S. states ofNew York,New Jersey,Pennsylvania,Delaware, andMaryland, andWashington, D.C. and the American territories and commonwealths ofPuerto Rico, and theU.S. Virgin Islands that wish to participate in Federal "Title IV" student loan programs.[2][3] The commission conducts business in 48 states; the two exceptions areMontana andNorth Dakota, two U.S. territories,Puerto Rico and theU.S. Virgin Islands, andWashington, D.C. It operates in 94 countries.
MSCHE grew out of theMiddle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA), an organization established in 1887 to improve education using evaluation and accreditation. MSCHE itself was established in 1919 and was one of three commissions of MSA until 2013 when MSCHE incorporated as a separate entity in Pennsylvania as the Mid-Atlantic Region Commission on Higher Education doing business as the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.[4] On July 1, 2019, MSCHE withdrew from MSA completely.[5]
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