Accrediting bodies exist to validate health care facilities and providers throughout the world, with the aim of asserting a minimum level of knowledge and know-how and quality assurance. The Joint Commission, formerly the Joint Commission on Healthcare Organizations, is a very visible accrediting organization for health care providers; it accredits more than 17,000 providers in the United States, as of 2010.
Its mission is "to continuously improve healthcare for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating healthcare organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value."
Other health care accrediting bodies exist, such as the the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), American Osteopathic Association or AOA, Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP), Community Health Accreditation Program (CHAP) and the Accreditation Commission for Health Care, Inc. (ACHC).
Many education accrediting bodies handle accreditation by region. Found within this category are national and regional accrediting bodies. The Council on Occupational Education works to ensure quality and integrity in career and technical education, while The Distance Education and Training Council "was founded in 1926 to promote sound educational standards and ethical business practices within the correspondence field."
Regional accrediting boards such as the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools offer multi-state check-and-balance measures to ensure high-quality education and continual improvement within their regions.
As of April 2010, the U.S. Department of Education's Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs listed 804 institutions holding accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, including Alabama A&M University, Auburn University, the College of William and Mary, Emory University and Florida A&M University.
Several education accreditation bodies specialize in a specific area, offering certification or validation concerning the academic quality of a particular program and its curriculum. The American Academy for Liberal Education offers accreditation services for general liberal arts programs offered at colleges and universities throughout the United States, while the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs provides the same services for college and university business programs.
Many accrediting bodies offer overlapping services, by specializing in subject matter specialities and their professional counterparts. For example, the American Bar Association "provides law school accreditation, continuing legal education, information about the law, programs to assist lawyers and judges in their work, and initiatives to improve the legal system for the public." Other organizations exist with this dual purpose, serving the fields of medicine, psychology and architecture.
Accreditations mills are accrediting bodies with little to no standards and little recognition in the field. They offer accrediting endorsements without the legal authority to do so, and often to the detriment of unsuspecting potential students.