The defined program or operating system
The defined course or educational program, including objectives, content control, delivery, assessment, learner rights, records and improvement.
General accreditation pathway · CHSPS-COURSE
Course Accreditation
At a glance
- Total to get accredited
- $1,200first course, all-in; includes the $400 application fee
- Every year after
- $350per course
- Typical time to decision
- About 6–12 weeksplanning target, application to decision
- Accreditation term
- 3 years
Eligibility review is free. You pay nothing until eligibility is confirmed and an agreement is signed.
Get one course independently accredited — objectives, content, delivery and assessment — without committing your whole organization. $1,200 all-in for the first course, and the standard is free to read first.
What is course accreditation — and when is it enough? →
501(c)(3) nonprofit · Standards published · Independent decision · Publicly verifiable
Total cost
Standard: CORE-100 + COURSE-400 · Term: 3 years · Fee Schedule 2026.1What a typical applicant pays$1,200to accredit one courseIncludes the $400 application fee. No other fee is required to reach a decision.
How long it takes≈ 6–12 weeksPlanning target, application to decision. Your scope and how quickly findings are answered set the actual pace.
- To get accredited
- Eligibility reviewFreeBefore anything else
- Application fee$400When you sign the applicant agreement; counts toward the $1,200
- Review balance$800When you submit your evidence
- To keep it
- Annual accreditation fee$350 per courseEach anniversary while accredited
- Renewal review$800 per courseEvery 3 years
- Only if it applies
- Each additional course$1,200Steps down to $950 each for coordinated course volumes. At 10+ courses the Fee Schedule recommends Education Provider Accreditation.
- On-site visit travelAt costOnly if a visit is required; virtual review is the default
Optional, not required: Accreditation Readiness Workshop, $395 per seat or $1,495 for five seats; Independent Accreditation Readiness Review, $1,500. Neither is needed to apply, and neither affects the decision.
Eligibility review is free. You pay nothing until eligibility is confirmed and an agreement is signed.Full COURSE fee table →
Fit and next steps
Who it’s for, and how it works
A good fit
- Flagship professional courses, workshops and bootcamps
- Safety and compliance courses where quality claims matter
- Providers who want one offering reviewed without committing the whole organization
Not the right fit
- A large catalog — at 10 or more courses the Fee Schedule recommends Education Provider Accreditation
- A credential issued only after passing a defined assessment — see ABC
- Making learners “certified” — that claim belongs to certification programs
- Free eligibility reviewAbout 5 minutes to submit. CHSPS sends a written outcome, targeted within 10 business days after a complete inquiry.
- Scope & agreementCHSPS confirms the scope in writing. You sign the applicant agreement and pay the $400 application fee, credited toward the $1,200 total.
- Evidence & technical reviewYou submit evidence and the $800 review balance. Conflict-screened reviewers evaluate it, and you can answer any findings.
- Independent decisionA separate committee makes the decision, and accredited scope becomes publicly verifiable. Planning target: about 6–12 weeks from application to decision.
CHSPS accredits
The named course or defined learning program: its outcomes, content governance, delivery, learner assessment and completion decisions.
CHSPS does not accredit
The provider organization as a whole, other courses in your catalog, or any credential beyond the stated completion.
What reviewers evaluate
Six review domains
Outcomes & design
Stated, assessable outcomes and coherent structure.
Content governance
Accuracy, currency and disclosure controls.
Delivery quality
Delivery that supports the stated outcomes.
Learner assessment
Assessment aligned to the outcomes.
Completion decisions
Defensible, recorded completion criteria.
Records & claims
Accurate records and truthful public claims.
See if your program qualifies.The eligibility review is free and takes about 5 minutes. You pay nothing until eligibility is confirmed and an agreement is signed.
Check eligibility — freePreparing an internal approval? The executive guide covers cost, timeline, risk and the questions your board will ask. Executive Guide for Accreditation Buyers →
Public accountability resources: governance and decision bodies · verify any accreditation by number · standards free to read in full · free reconsideration & appeals.
CHSPS-COURSE-400 · Program clarity
Know exactly what COURSE accreditation covers.
Individual courses and defined educational programs evaluated on their own design, delivery, assessment and quality controls.
No blanket organizational claim
The education provider as a whole, unrelated courses, or individual learners.
Scope is explicit and verifiable
One named course or defined educational program, including the approved delivery modes and material versions in scope.
Published Standard 2026.1
effective August 19, 2026. Continuous eligibility intake. Formal application is available after written eligibility and scope confirmation. Term: 3 years.
Standard stack: CHSPS-CORE-100 + CHSPS-COURSE-400. Inquiry, application, preparation, payment or review activity is not accredited status. Only a final CHSPS decision and current official verification record establish accredited status.
Who it’s for
One offering, reviewed on its merits
Course Accreditation evaluates a specific course, workshop series or defined educational program within COURSE-400 scope: its stated outcomes, content accuracy, delivery, assessment and the honesty of its completion claims.
- Flagship professional courses and bootcamps
- Defined educational programs that do not make an assessment-based certificate claim
- Safety and compliance courses where quality claims matter
- Courses marketed as exam or career preparation
Honest-claims rule: accredited courses may state that the course is CHSPS-accredited. They may not imply that completing it makes a person “certified” or “board-certified.” That claim belongs to certification programs.
Review at a glance
- Learning outcomes and audience fit
- Content accuracy and currency review
- Instructional design and delivery quality
- Assessment aligned to stated outcomes
- Completion records and certificate claims
- Truthful marketing of the offering
Planning target: approximately 6–12 weeks · Cycle: 3 years with annual attestation · Fees: see Fees & Payment
Scaling up
From one course to a system
Accrediting several courses? Education Provider Accreditation reviews your whole production system once; per-course fees step down for coordinated volumes ($1,200 → $950) and the Fee Schedule recommends EDP at 10+ courses.
After accreditation
Maintenance procedure
Maintaining COURSE accreditation
Accreditation is a continuing relationship. ACC-109 governs the common maintenance cycle; CHSPS-CORE-100 + CHSPS-COURSE-400 continues to govern the accredited scope throughout the term.
Keep the record current
The consolidated annual report confirms continuing operation and highlights changes that may affect conformity. Scope-specific prompts may focus on:
- course availability, enrollment and completion activity
- material content/version changes and evidence currency
- faculty/author or assessment changes
- learner complaints, accessibility issues and evaluation results
- certificate, marketing, technology or privacy changes
Report material changes
Notify CHSPS before implementing a change that could affect conformity. Examples for this accreditation can include:
- course scope, audience or prerequisites
- learning objectives or substantial content revisions
- faculty/author responsibility
- delivery method or learning technology
- assessment, completion or remediation rules
- credit/workload calculation, certificate or marketing claims
Revalidate the living system
Renewal is not a blank restart. Current records can carry forward when still valid; the organization revalidates the current standards, implementation and performance, including:
- current audience, need and learning objectives
- content evidence/currency and faculty qualifications
- instructional method, assessment and completion integrity
- learner support, accessibility and evaluation
- certificate/record integrity, technology and version control
Planning guidance, not extra requirements.The examples above organize likely maintenance questions around the published standard domains. ACC-109 and the applicable controlled standards remain the authoritative requirements.
Prepare with CHSPS education
Get accreditation-ready faster
Optional, separately operated education — it never influences decisions; it is designed to help you prepare for the evidence stage.
Free · live
CHSPS webinars
Free webinars on the Core Requirements, the COURSE standards and the review process, listed here as they are published.
See webinars$395 · live workshop
Accreditation Readiness Workshop
Two half-days of guided gap analysis method with worked examples, templates and a planning workbook.
View workshop & enroll$1,495 · team bundle
Readiness Workshop Team Bundle
Five seats for the current readiness workshop, with the published workshop materials and team participation included.
Enroll a teamTechnical Reference CriteriaFor quality leaders and technical teams who want to examine CHSPS interpretation ranges in greater depth.
Quantitative reference profile
Course-level quality signals that can be audited
These CHSPS reference criteria describe the level of control a mature course operator should be capable of measuring and demonstrating.
Objective-to-assessment alignment
Preferred≥ 95%
Watch90.0–94.9%
Review< 90.0%
Content-review currency
Preferred100% at release
Watch95.0–99.9%
Review< 95.0%
Completion-record accuracy
Preferred≥ 99.5%
Watch98.0–99.4%
Review< 98.0%
Assessment completion among completers
Preferred≥ 95%
Watch90.0–94.9%
Review< 90.0%
Accommodation fulfillment
Preferred≥ 98%
Watch95.0–97.9%
Review< 95.0%
Learner evaluation response
Preferred≥ 50%
Watch30.0–49.9%
Review< 30.0%
Available now
View ALTAdd AI Learning & Tutor Assurance.
ALT-320 is now available for learner-facing AI tutors, chatbots, feedback and content systems, including assessment-boundary controls.
Before you apply
Questions buyers ask first
What does it cost, all-in?
$1,200 for the first course: the $400 application fee when you sign the applicant agreement, then the $800 review balance when you submit evidence. After that, $350 a year per course and an $800 renewal review every 3 years. Each additional course is $1,200. The eligibility review is free.
How long does it take?
The free eligibility review targets a written outcome within 10 business days after a complete inquiry. From application to decision, the planning target is about 6–12 weeks; your scope and how quickly findings are answered set the actual pace.
What do we need to start, and what evidence comes later?
Nothing to upload. Step 1 asks only for your name, email and organization; the rest of the form covers scope, operating status and readiness, in about 5 minutes. Formal evidence comes after the agreement is signed: outcomes and design, content governance, delivery, learner assessment, completion decisions, and records and claims.
Can organizations outside the United States apply?
Yes. CHSPS is a United States–based 501(c)(3) nonprofit; organizations in any country may apply.
What if we are not eligible?
Every eligibility review ends in a written outcome: Eligible, Potentially Eligible — Additional Information Required, or Not Eligible, with the specific thresholds not yet met. There is no charge for the review, and if a different CHSPS pathway fits better, the review says so.