Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

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Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

MSA logo
MSA operational area
Abbreviation	MSA-CESS
Formation	1887
Legal status	Association
Purpose	Educational accreditation
Headquarters	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
Region served	The United States and over 100 other countries world-wide
Main organ	Board of Trustees
Website	msa-cess.org

The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, also referred to as the Middle States Association or MSA, is an accreditor in the United States. Historically, it has accredited schools in the Mid-Atlantic states region of the northeastern United States. The peer-based, Philadelphia-based non-profit association was founded in 1887. It is a voluntary organization that performs peer evaluation and regional accreditation of public and private schools (including parochial / religious-owned and independent secular schools).

The association has two commissions, the Middle States Commission on Elementary Schools (MSCES) and Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools (MSCSS). The association's higher education commission, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), operates completely independently of the other two commissions. MSCSS also accredits some institutions that offer postsecondary education but only those that do not confer academic degrees or offer technical programs.^[1]

The two Middle States Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools (M.S.A.-C.E.S.S.) as of 2021^[update] accredits nearly 2600 public and private schools of elementary and secondary / high schools, along with the various school systems / districts of cities / towns and counties throughout the United States (especially in its originally designated Middle Atlantic states region) and those of American origin in more than 100 other countries around the world.^[2]

MSA used to accredit colleges and universities through its higher education commission. In 2013, that commission, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, became a legally separate entity.

• Educational accreditation
• United States Department of Education

• Official website