CHSPS evaluates the accredited program or system.
CHSPS reviews evidence for the approved scope against the applicable CHSPS standards and issues the accreditation decision at the program, organization, course or defined-system level.
People served by accredited programs
Know what CHSPS accreditation means for you
CHSPS accredits organizations, programs, courses and defined systems — not individual people. If you apply to, learn through or hold a credential issued by a CHSPS-accredited program, use this page to verify scope and status, understand who is responsible for your credential or learner record, and know where to raise a standards-related concern.
VerifyIs the program actually accredited?Use the official CHSPS public record.
ScopeDoes the accreditation cover your offering?Read the listed boundary literally.
IssuerWho makes your individual decision?The program issues the score, certificate or credential.
RecourseWhere should a concern go?Program appeal, CHSPS complaint or claim report.
The most important distinction
Your program may be accredited. You are not.
“Candidate,” “learner” and “credential holder” describe your relationship with the organization or program. They do not describe an accreditation status granted to you by CHSPS.
The program makes your individual candidate or learner decisions.
The issuing organization determines eligibility, administers learning or assessment, issues scores, certificates or credentials, and manages renewal or revocation under its own published rules.
A person is never “CHSPS-accredited.”
A credential holder may accurately say that the credential was issued by a CHSPS-accredited program when that statement matches the program’s current verified scope and the applicable claims rules.
Before you enroll, pay or rely
Check four things before trusting an accreditation claim.
The public record is the control point. Do not rely only on a logo, seal, certificate image or program marketing statement.
Verify the exact accreditation record
Use the accreditation number or exact program name to confirm that the program, course or defined system appears in CHSPS public verification.
Open public verification →Confirm that your specific offering is inside scope
Do not assume that accreditation of one program, course or system covers every credential, course, location or affiliate operated by the same organization.
Read the verified scope →Check current status and dates
Make the check before enrollment, payment or reliance on an accreditation claim. Current, suspended, withdrawn or expired status must be interpreted from the public record.
Review public actions →Read the program’s candidate or learner rules
Before paying or testing, review the program’s own eligibility, assessment, accommodations, conduct, complaint, appeal, refund and credential-maintenance rules where applicable.
Understand the terminology →What to expect from a candidate-facing accredited program
Look for the responsibilities that apply to the accredited scope.
CHSPS pathways cover different kinds of programs and systems, so the exact requirements vary. These are common candidate- and learner-facing responsibility areas where applicable; the controlling standard and verified scope govern.
Clear claims & eligibility
Published requirements and marketing should describe what the offering or credential is, who is eligible and what successful completion or certification means.
Assessment & decisions
Where assessment is part of the accredited scope, scoring, pass/fail or other candidate-affecting decisions should follow the applicable controlled requirements and program rules.
Access & accommodations
Where applicable, candidate and learner access, accommodations and nondiscrimination processes should be documented and consistently administered.
Privacy & security
Personal data, assessment records and protected content should be handled under the program’s applicable privacy, confidentiality and security controls.
Complaints & program appeals
Candidate-facing programs should provide the complaint, reconsideration or appeal routes required by their applicable standards and policies.
Credential maintenance
When a credential has renewal, recertification, revocation or continuing-competence rules, the issuing program remains responsible for administering them.
Scope matters. A certification program, an education provider, a course and an assessment-based micro-credential are not interchangeable. The applicable CHSPS standard determines which candidate or learner protections and operating requirements apply.
If something goes wrong
Use the route that matches the problem.
Not every disagreement with a program is an accreditation complaint. Individual score and credential disputes normally belong first in the issuing program’s own process; CHSPS complaints address conformity with CHSPS standards.
Score, eligibility, retake, refund or credential decision
Use the program’s own candidate complaint, reconsideration or appeal process first. CHSPS does not issue your score or credential and does not replace the program’s individual decision process.
Program process firstPossible failure to conform to CHSPS standards
Anyone may file a CHSPS complaint about an accredited program’s conformity with CHSPS standards, including concerns such as unfair candidate treatment, misleading claims or security failures.
Open the correct route →Questionable or out-of-scope CHSPS claim
If the organization’s website, badge or marketing does not match the public accreditation record, verify the record and report the claim through the public claim-report process.
Open the correct route →Use the terms precisely
Accreditation, certification and certificates describe different things.
This is why “credential holder” is an appropriate audience term only when the page makes clear that the credential is issued by the program and the accreditation belongs to the program or system.
Accreditation
CHSPS evaluates a defined scope against published requirements. Accreditation never attaches to an individual person.
Certification / credential
A person may be a candidate or credential holder because a program evaluated that person and issued the credential. CHSPS did not issue the individual credential.
Certificate / micro-credential
A certificate or micro-credential documents completion or assessed learning under the issuing program’s rules. Its meaning depends on the specific program and accredited scope.
Start with the public record
Verify the program, then read its scope and candidate-facing rules.
If you hold a credential from a CHSPS-accredited certification or credentialing program, you are a credential holder of that program. You are not an individual accredited by CHSPS.