Institutional Accreditation

Bentley maintains accreditations with the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) and Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). In the fall of 2022, Bentley was re-accredited by NECHE for a 10-year period. AACSB accreditation was attained initially in 1989 and reaffirmed in 1995, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020. Bentley also holds AACSB accreditation for its accounting program.

As part of the re-accreditation process, Bentley University completed its most recent NECHE Self-Study process in February 2022. A copy of the institutional self-study report can be accessed here. To review the formal document sent to NECHE, a request can be made to Erin Kelley, associate dean of assurance of learning and accreditation.

Read the notice of Bentley's continuation of NECHE accreditation

Read the Letter

New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE)

The New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), established in 1885, is recognized as an institutional accreditor by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) and serves as a reliable authority and independent voice on the quality of higher education. The Commission is a voluntary, peer-based, non-governmental membership association which promotes educational excellence and quality assurance to its over 200 member institutions both inside and outside the United States, all of which are degree granting post-secondary educational institutions offering higher education. NECHE, through its membership, has established Standards for Accreditation to ensure quality, innovation, and student success across the ever-evolving landscape of higher education. The Commission itself consists of faculty and administrators from affiliated institutions as well as public members who have no institutional affiliation.

Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business

Bentley holds both AACSB Business and Accounting Accreditations. AACSB business accreditation signals to the world that an institution has met the most rigorous standards of excellence in business education. Institutions that have earned the AACSB accreditation seal demonstrate that they are committed to upholding and advancing the quality of their programs, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The Accounting Accreditation is a supplemental accreditation for schools with an elevated quality assurance system for their accounting program.

What our accreditors say about Assurance of Learning

"The institution publishes the learning goals and requirements for each program. Such goals include the knowledge, intellectual and academic skills, competencies, and methods of inquiry to be acquired. In addition, if relevant to the program, goals include creative abilities and values to be developed and specific career-preparation practices to be mastered. The institution develops, approves, administers, and on a regular cycle reviews its academic programs under institutional policies that are implemented by designated bodies with established channels of communication and control. Review of academic programs includes evidence of student success and program effectiveness and incorporates an external perspective. Faculty have a substantive voice in these matters.” (NECHE, Standard 4)

“The school uses well-documented assurance of learning (AoL) processes that include direct and indirect measures for ensuring the quality of all degree programs that are deemed in scope for accreditation purposes. The results of the school’s AoL work leads to curricular and process improvements.” (2020 Standards, p. 41)