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U.S. Institutions
and Programs Outside the United States
There are two types of U.S. institutions operating outside
the United States: those that operate independently and do
not have a U.S. campus, and those that are part of, or in
some other way closely connected with, a U.S.-based institution.
U.S. universities and colleges that are located outside the
United States and do not have a U.S. campus can apply for
accreditation by recognized U.S. accrediting bodies. They
will be included in the list of accredited institutions or
programs that each accrediting body maintains, usually in
a special section for institutions outside the United States.
These institutions will have to meet the same accreditation
standards, and will have the same level of recognition, as
any accredited U.S. institution located inside the United
States.
Institutions that are part of a U.S.-based college or university,
or that are in some other way affiliated with an institution
in the United States, are known as branch campuses. Institutional
accrediting bodies will incorporate branch campuses outside
the United States within their accreditation of U.S. institutions.
However, to be eligible for inclusion in their accreditation,
the branch campus must meet the following criteria and procedures:
- Any degrees earned at the branch campus must be clearly
conferred by the U.S. institution.
- The branch campus must be able to offer the same quality
and level of instruction as the home campus in the United
States, and it must be possible for students to take 50
percent or more of the credits toward the U.S. degree or
complete their program at the branch campus site.
- The branch campus site must undergo the same process of
self-study, visitation, and consideration by the accrediting
body as the home campus.
- The branch campus must be subject to the academic governance
of the U.S. campus.
- U.S. institutions must inform the accrediting body before
establishing a branch, and that branch must be visited within
six months of starting operations to ensure its conformity
to the accrediting body's regulations.
Sometimes accredited U.S. colleges and universities form
agreements with institutions in other countries to offer their
degree programs on those institutions' campuses outside the
United States. In these situations, the degree program can
be considered a branch campus for accreditation purposes as
long as it is possible to complete the full degree at the
host institution outside the United States, and the degree
is clearly conferred by the U.S. university or college.
If you have any doubt about the accreditation status of a
U.S. institution or a U.S. degree program offered in your
home country, contact the accrediting body of the institution
in the United States directly, or speak to a U.S. educational
information or advising center for further advice. Remember
that credits and degrees earned at such an institution will
be treated as foreign credentials by your government and evaluated
according to the same criteria used in accepting credits from
a campus in the United States.
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