Accreditation Information

Boston College is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (formerly the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc.).

Accreditation of an institution of higher education by the Commission indicates that it meets or exceeds criteria for the assessment of institutional quality periodically applied through a peer review process. An accredited college or university is one which has available the necessary resources to achieve its stated purposes through appropriate educational programs, is substantially doing so, and gives reasonable evidence that it will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. Institutional integrity is also addressed through accreditation.

Accreditation by the Commission is not partial but applies to the institution as a whole. As such, it is not a guarantee to every course or program offered, or the competence of individual graduates. Rather, it provides reasonable assurance about the quality of opportunities available to students who attend the institution.

Inquiries regarding the accreditation status of Boston College by the Commission should be directed to the Office of the Provost and Dean of Faculties, Boston College, 270 Hammond Street, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, 617-552-3260. Individuals also may contact the New England Commission of Higher Education, 301 Edgewater Place, Suite 210, Wakefield, MA 01880, 781-425-7785, email: info@neche.org.

Boston College’s last review for accreditation, which occurred in March 2017, affirmed the University met or exceeded all components of the New England Commission of Higher Education’s Standards for Accreditation. Boston College is now preparing for its next comprehensive accreditation review, currently scheduled for March 2027. In addition to the New England Commission of Higher Education, a variety of schools and programs at Boston College are affiliated with discipline-based accrediting agencies. For distance education, Boston College is an approved member of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) and Boston College’s public safety and police department is an accredited program of the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission.
 

Boston College Law School

Boston College School of Social Work

Carroll School of Management

Clough School of Theology and Ministry

Connell School of Nursing

Lynch School of Education and Human Development

The U.S. Department of Education posted new regulations, effective July 1, 2011, that: define a credit-hour; instruct colleges and universities to establish policies and procedures for assuring conformity to the new definition for purposes of determining eligibility for federal program funding; and, instruct the institutions’ accrediting agencies to “conduct an effective review and evaluation of the reliability and accuracy of the institution’s assignment of credit hours.”

The new regulations define a credit hour as “an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that is an institutionally established equivalency that reasonably approximates not less than:

  • "One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out of class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester or trimester hour of credit, or ten to twelve weeks for one quarter hour of credit, or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time; or
  • "At least an equivalent amount of work as required in this definition for other academic activities as established by the institution, including laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours." [Section 600.2, effective October 29, 2010].

At its meeting on January 13, 2011, the Council of Deans of Boston College adopted a proposal that:

  • The Educational Policy Committee (EPC) in each School will clarify the credit-hour values that the School will apply to each form of direct instruction or its equivalent in its graduate and undergraduate academic programs, including courses, laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, thesis supervision, etc.;
  • The Educational Policy Committee in each School will review all existing and all future proposed credit-granting activity for conformity to these credit-hour values, and will maintain record of its policies and review proceedings appropriate for reporting to the University’s accrediting agency.

The reports of the School's EPC may be found here:

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