There are two types of educational accreditation: institutional and specialized./programme IIn the Caribbean, institutional accreditation is provided by national accreditation agencies.  Currently, there are three fully functioning accreditation agencies in the Caribbean, the Accreditation Council of Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados Accreditation Council and the University Council of Jamaica.

During the institutional accreditation process, the accrediting agency evaluates the  institution in terms of its mission , objectives and the agency’s standards.  The agency assesses the institution's governance and administration, financial stability, admissions and student services, institutional resources, student learning, institutional effectiveness, and relationships with internal and external constituencies.

In preparation for the accreditation visit, the institution is required to prepare a self-evaluation or self-study in which it reviews its practices against the standard set by the accrediting agency.   The accreditation process usually involves a visit by peers, which is known as a peer review. 

Institutional accreditation does not look any particular programme or course in detail but evaluates the institution's resources and infrastructure to determine its ability to delivery quality programmes.

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