accreditation

In systems engineering accreditation is the formal attestation that a model or simulation is acceptable for use for a specific purpose. Accreditation is conferred by the organization best positioned to make the judgment that the model or simulation in question is acceptable. That organization may be an operational user, the program office, or a contractor, depending upon the purposes intended.^[1]

Accreditation is a process in which certification of competency, authority, or credibility is presented.

Organizations that issue credentials or certify third parties against official standards are themselves formally accredited by accreditation bodies (such as UKAS); hence they are sometimes known as "accredited certification bodies".^[2] The accreditation process ensures that their certification practices are acceptable, typically meaning that they are competent to test and certify third parties, behave ethically and employ suitable quality assurance.

One example of accreditation is the accreditation of testing laboratories and certification specialists that are permitted to issue official certificates of compliance with established technical standards, such as physical, chemical, forensic, quality, and security standards.^[3]

Accreditation bodies in these fields usually operate according to ISO/IEC 17011.^[4] Accredited entities in specific sectors must provide evidence to the accreditation body that they conform to other standards in the same series:

• BS EN ISO/IEC 17020: "General criteria for the operation of various types of bodies performing inspection" (2004)
• BS EN ISO/IEC 17021: "Conformity assessment. Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems" (2011)
• BS EN ISO/IEC 17024: "Conformity Assessment. General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons" (2003)
• BS EN ISO/IEC 17025: "General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories" (2005)

Fields that involve accreditation

Accreditation processes are used in a wide variety of fields:

• Accredited Equine Business Professional Member - EBPM
• Accredited investor
• Accredited in Public Relations
• Accredited Registrar
• Diplomatic accreditation
• Educational accreditation
  • Higher education accreditation
    • List of recognized higher education accreditation organizations
    • List of unrecognized higher education accreditation organizations
      • Accreditation mill
      • List of unaccredited institutions of higher learning
  • Pre-tertiary education accreditation
• Email sender accreditation
• Healthcare
  • Accreditation Commission for Health Care
  • International healthcare accreditation
  • Hospital accreditation
  • Joint Commission
  • QHA Trent Accreditation
  • United Kingdom Accreditation Forum
• Information Assurance
• Personal trainer accreditation
• Professional certification
• Systems Engineering
• Translating and Interpreting
  • National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (Australia)

See also

• Vishal Jain. "Accreditation Standard For quality School Governance". http://schoolofeducators.com/2010/11/qci-nabet-accreditation-standard-for-quality-school-governance/. Retrieved 2012-01-06. 
• Accreditation Council (disambiguation)
• Authentication
• Certification
• Verification and Validation
• Homologation
• International Council on Educational Credential Evaluation
• International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation
• Quality assurance
• Quality infrastructure
• Standards organization
• Deutsches Institut für Bautechnik
• Department of Defence Information Assurance Certification and Accreditation Process

References

External links

Look up accreditation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• ANSI Accreditation Programs
• European co-operation for Accreditation - a member of International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation
• International Accreditation Service - a subsidiary of International Code Council
• International Organic Accreditation Service
• Analytic Quality Glossary: Accreditation
• European co-operation for Accreditation
• APA Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
• sieps.ch Information Services on Swiss Private Schools and Universities
• Standards for Educational Advancement & Accreditation SEAA Trust India