How to Check a University's Accreditation Before Enrolling

To check a university or higher-education institution, identify the legal body that will award the qualification, search the official source for that country, and confirm the institution's exact status—not merely whether an accreditor's logo appears on its website.

Accreditation, degree-awarding powers, provider registration and licensing are not the same thing. Membership, candidacy, validation and commercial ratings are different again. The practical question is whether the exact institution and award will be accepted for the purpose that matters to you.

CareerSkale is an admissions-support intermediary, not an accreditor or awarding body. Every qualification discussed through CareerSkale is awarded by the institution named in the relevant programme and offer documents.

the legal entity signing the enrolment agreement;
the teaching or delivery provider;
the body assessing the work;
the body issuing the transcript; and
the body whose name appears on the final award.

If an institution says that an award is validated, franchised, jointly delivered or dual-enrolled, ask for the current agreement and verify the awarding body's own public description. A relationship between two organisations does not transfer every licence or accreditation from one to the other.

United Kingdom: recognition is devolved

There is no single provider register that performs the same role across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Use the route for the nation in which the awarding body is based, plus the UK-wide recognised-awards check where relevant.

Search the Office for Students Register for an English higher-education provider. The OfS regulates registered providers in England and records regulatory information. Degree-awarding powers are a separate authority within that framework; the OfS degree-awarding-powers guidance explains that a provider needs those powers to award foundation, bachelor's, taught or research degrees at the relevant level.

Check the legal provider name and the level and scope of its powers. Do not assume that registration permits every type of degree or every subject.

The Scottish Government's universities page identifies recognised bodies with degree-awarding powers and explains the distinction between recognised and listed bodies. A listed body may provide a course leading to a degree awarded by a recognised body; it does not thereby acquire its own degree-awarding powers.

Use the Wales route on the UK government's degree-recognition checker, including the list of recognised bodies in Wales and the UK-wide recognised-awards route.

Medr—the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research—brought Wales's first Register of Higher Education Providers into force on 1 August 2026. The register records providers meeting Medr's registration requirements. Registration, funding oversight and degree-awarding powers are related questions, but they are not interchangeable; confirm the named award through the recognised-bodies or recognised-awards route as applicable.

The Northern Ireland Department for the Economy publishes higher-education recognition information and lists recognised bodies with degree-awarding powers. It also distinguishes bodies that provide courses from those that award recognised degrees.

The government degree-recognition checker also points to recognised awards. This covers certain awards recognised through statutory routes. Check the exact award and awarding body, not only the course provider.

Ofqual recognition is not the register of university degree-awarding powers. A provider's Level 7 or Level 8 language, Ofqual-regulated diploma or relationship with a regulated awarding organisation does not by itself authorise that provider to award a UK master's degree or doctorate.

If a programme uses a regulated diploma as progression toward a university award, verify both stages: the regulated qualification and the separate university that awards the final degree.

QAA's role as the Designated Quality Body in England ended on 31 March 2023. Its current England page records that period and its later advisory work. The assessment functions reverted to the OfS, which performs them directly; no replacement Designated Quality Body has been appointed.

A QAA membership, review or reference to the UK Quality Code should therefore be read for its actual scope. It does not replace the official degree-recognition check.

the US Department of Education's Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs; and
the Council for Higher Education Accreditation directories.

The US Department of Education does not itself accredit institutions. It recognises accrediting agencies and publishes reported accreditation information. CHEA recognises accreditors through its own process and provides institution, programme and accreditor directories.

Check whether the result is institutional or programmatic. A business-school programme accreditation does not automatically accredit the whole institution. Candidacy, educational membership and an application under review are not accreditation.

State approval or licensing is another layer. It may permit an institution to operate, but the applicable state law may expressly say it is not accreditation. A licensing exemption means an institution falls outside or within a specified exception to the licensing requirement; it should not be described as a licence or accreditation.

The European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education is the official register of quality-assurance agencies that work in substantial compliance with the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area.

EQAR primarily lists agencies, not every university as a simple approved/not-approved directory. If an institution names a European accreditor, search the agency, confirm its registration dates and scope, and then verify whether the agency's own report or DEQAR record covers the exact institution or programme.

An agency's presence on EQAR does not prove that every organisation displaying its logo is accredited. Conversely, an institution's absence from DEQAR may require further investigation rather than an automatic conclusion. Keep the agency result and institution result separate.

The swissuniversities list of accredited Swiss higher-education institutions records institutions accredited under the Higher Education Act. It explains that accreditation decisions belong to the Swiss Accreditation Council.

Search the exact institution name. A Swiss company registration or UID number does not establish higher-education accreditation. Nor does a private accreditor's use of “Swiss” in its description.

If an institution is absent, ask whether it issues a private institutional award and how that award is treated for your intended purpose. Do not relabel a private award as a Swiss federally recognised university degree.

Accreditation, licensing, membership and candidacy

Use the exact term:

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