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36-747: Despite the name, the University of the State of New York is not an educational institution but rather a governmental licensing and accreditation body that sets standards for schools operating in New York State, from pre-kindergarten through professional and graduate school , as well as for the practice of a wide variety of professions. The Board of Regents of the USNY was established by statute on May 1, 1784, to re-establish and oversee King's College as Columbia University and any other colleges and academies incorporated in

72-470: A corporation . Early in the 19th century, the Regents established standards for incorporating private academies and colleges, including specifying the texts or subjects that academies must teach to qualify for state aid. Aid was restricted to those students who had passed local entrance examinations. To combat the problem of academies lowering their standards in order to attract students and get state aid, during

108-515: A charter granted by the USNY Board of Regents. No institution in New York State can call itself, per New York State law, a "college" or "university," or award academic degrees , without being chartered by NYSED and being a USNY member. Institutions in the state can, however, offer non-degree certificate programs without adhering to these requirements. Notes Bibliography Further reading School accreditation Educational accreditation

144-567: A constituent and subordinate component of USNY. USNY, through its Board of Regents, generally uses NYSED as a vehicle to carry out policy created by the Regents. In other words, USNY's Board of Regents generally creates policy, whereas NYSED generally administers policy and the BOCES' District Superintendents help facilitate the roll-out of that policy in the field. The New York State Legislature can also create some education policy; such statutory education policy would become official education policy that

180-415: Is a quality assurance process under which services and operations of educational institutions or programs are evaluated and verified by an external body to determine whether applicable and recognized standards are met. If standards are met, accredited status is granted by the appropriate agency. In most countries, the function of educational accreditation is conducted by a government organization, such as

216-470: Is an advisory body to the U.S. Secretary of Education . The federal government is, therefore, still the top-level architect and controlling authority of accreditation. The U.S. accreditation process was developed in the late 19th century and early 20th century after educational institutions perceived a need for improved coordination and articulation between secondary and post-secondary educational institutions, along with standardization of requirements between

252-514: Is for higher education. Public schools must adhere to criteria set by the state governments, and there is wide variation among the individual states in the requirements applied to non-public primary and secondary schools. There are seven regional accreditors in the United States that have historically accredited elementary schools , junior high schools , middle schools , high schools , as well as institutions of higher education . Some of

288-656: Is the State University of New York (SUNY), which is one of New York State's systems of public higher education, the other being the City University of New York (CUNY). Like all colleges and universities in the state, the 64 SUNY and 25 CUNY campus units are all part of USNY. However, the power of SUNY and CUNY units to grant degrees exists by mandate of the State Legislature; a private college or university in New York State would be allowed to grant degrees by virtue of

324-714: The Conseo para la Accreditation de la Education Superior (COPAES) for academic programs in Mexican Higher Education. In the European Union , the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education registers quality assurance agencies that provide accreditation. In the United States, there is no federal government list of recognized accreditation agencies for primary and secondary schools like there

360-559: The Ford and Carnegie Foundations . Degrees could be granted based on a combination of college proficiency exams and classroom and correspondence courses, or on a variety of exams alone. The first degrees were conferred in 1972. This program became independent of the Education Department in 1991 but continued to be governed by the Board of Regents until 1998, at which time it fully separated from

396-840: The Governor of New York , the Lieutenant Governor of New York , the Secretary of State of New York , the New York Attorney General , and the Speaker of the New York State Assembly , the Mayor of New York City , the Mayor of Albany, New York , 2) two people from each of the then twelve existing counties, 3) one representative of each religious denomination in the state, chosen by their congregation, 4) founders of any college or school in

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432-654: The New York State Legislature for five-year terms. Thirteen of the Regents represent the state's 13 judicial districts (one appointed from each district), and four are at-large. The Regents serve without salary. USNY's affiliation and oversight are very broad. As a legal technicality, USNY includes all of the state's more than 7,000 public and private elementary and secondary schools; approximately 250 public and private colleges and universities ; another approximately 250 proprietary (for-profit) schools; nearly 7,000 libraries ; about 750 museums ; all of

468-434: The 1876 Act establishing the districts. ), plus three "at large" members. New regents members have been sworn in as districts were added and reconfigured. Section 202 of the education laws of 1945 established that a regent could not serve past April 1 in the year following their 70th birthday or be a "trustee, president, principal, or any other officer of an institution belonged to the university." If either event occurred,

504-443: The Board of Regents to become a private, independent college. Up until that time it did not offer instruction, but in addition to its examinations, it accepted transfer credit from any regionally-accredited college. The school, prohibited by the terms of its "independence" agreement from continuing to use the name Regents College, adopted the name Excelsior College in 2001. Since the school offers both undergraduate and graduate programs,

540-515: The Board of Regents) in order to obtain tax-exempt nonprofit status and other benefits. The state Education Law makes the Regents the head of the New York State Education Department . The Regents select a Commissioner of Education who both runs the Education Department and is president – that is, chief executive officer – of the University. The Board of Regents also elects a chancellor from among its members, who presides over

576-480: The Commissioner of Education would also be responsible for administering. Regents Examinations , tests administered to high school students to demonstrate mastery of various subjects, were established by the Regents and first administered in 1865. The Regents of USNY have set standards by which students may earn various levels of Regents diplomas for high school performance. USNY can also issue honorary degrees ;

612-587: The Ministry of Education. The United States government instead delegates the quality assurance process to private non-profit organizations. Those organizations are formally called accreditors. In order to receive federal funding and any other type of federal recognition, all accreditors in the US must, in turn, be recognized by the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI), which

648-593: The New York State Commissioner of Education's, and by extension, the Chancellor of the Board of Regents', field representative. A key former initiative of the Board of Regents, created to better bring higher education to New York State's nontraditional adult learners, was the Board of Regents' Regents External Degree Program , or REX, which became Regents College in 1984 and then the separate and independent Excelsior College in 1998–2001. This program

684-515: The Regents to appoint examining and licensing boards in the state's medical schools , and in 1890 the Regents were given the exclusive power to license physicians . Also starting in 1890, the Secretary to the Board of Regents – then Melvil Dewey , also head of the State Library – supervised full-time inspectors of secondary schools, libraries, colleges, and other institutions reporting to

720-417: The Regents' meetings and appoints its committees. The New York State Education Department (NYSED) was created at the behest of former New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt in 1904. USNY has, as a subordinate unit, NYSED, including NYSED's various administrative personnel – furthermore, the various schools, colleges, libraries, museums, teachers, etc., of USNY form constituent units of USNY, whereas NYSED forms

756-483: The Regents. Starting in 1910, private trade schools were required to be licensed and inspected, and in 1923 licensing requirements were extended to correspondence schools operating in the state. In 1948, New York State established a system of support organizations known as Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) across the state. The head of each BOCES, known as the District Superintendent, acts as

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792-488: The United States. Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York The Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York is responsible for the general supervision of all educational activities within New York State, presiding over University of the State of New York and the New York State Education Department . The board was established by statute on May 1, 1784. The members were divided into five classes: 1) ex officio members including

828-478: The commissioner of education, who "serves at the pleasure" of the board of regents. The regents continued to be elected by joint ballot of the legislature. Eleven of the sitting 19 regents were chosen by the legislature to continue in office, and were classified to serve for different term lengths, so that every year one seat came up for election, for a full term. The number of board members was reduced to eight, one regent per New York State Judicial District (based on

864-503: The honorary degrees that can be issued come from an established list contained in Rules of the Board of Regents ("Regents Rules"). USNY also has the power to directly issue (as opposed to through some other institution) diplomas, certificates, and degrees. Today, for a variety of reasons, USNY directly issues diplomas to individuals meeting graduation requirements at several postsecondary institutions in New York State. Not to be confused with USNY

900-432: The institution decided to change the name again to Excelsior University in 2022. Excelsior University is now a constituent member of USNY in the same way that other institutions of higher education (including private colleges) in New York State are. Like them, it has its own charter and Board of Trustees. The Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York oversees USNY. The Board includes 17 members elected by

936-661: The later nineteenth century the Regents developed and instituted educational standards for high schools statewide, through use of the Regents examinations and syllabi. The legislature gave the Regents responsibility for the New York State Library and New York State Museum in 1844 and 1845, respectively, and in 1889 and 1892 expanded the USNY's responsibilities significantly to include the incorporation and supervision of all libraries, museums, correspondence schools , and other educational institutions. An 1872 statute authorized

972-446: The legislature legislated the existing regents out of office, and a new set of regents was appointed: the governor and the lieutenant governor continued as ex officio members, and 19 regents were appointed for life. This legislation also shifted the regents' focus from Columbia to schools, colleges, and universities across the state. On April 8, 1842, the secretary of state was added again as an ex officio member, and on March 30, 1854,

1008-823: The reauthorization of the GI Bill for Korean War veterans . With the creation of the U.S. Department of Education and under the terms of the Higher Education Act of 1965 , as amended, the U.S. Secretary of Education is required by law to publish a list of nationally recognized accrediting agencies for higher education. Higher Education extends beyond the United States. Within North America, Canada has agencies such as EQual Accreditation, overseen by Accreditation Canada , that ensures programs meet national benchmarks for educational excellence and quality standards for health education programs. Mexico has similar agencies such as

1044-473: The regent was expected to resign from the board. This restriction was lifted in 1986 with the passage of a New York State law banning mandatory retirement ages in most sectors. Currently, 17 members serve, representing each of the 13 judicial districts plus 4 at-large members. Regents currently serve for a term of five years. The Regents have never received a salary and only their travel expenses are reimbursed. Notes : Ex officio tenures are not mentioned if

1080-530: The regional accreditors, such as, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, International Association for Learner Driven Schools (IALDS), New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Western Association of Schools and Colleges AdvancED , and some independent associations, such as the Association of Christian Schools International and Council of Islamic Schools of North America (CISNA), have expanded their accreditation activity to include schools outside

1116-460: The state (and their heirs or successors), and 5) representatives from selected colleges. The regents were spread across the state and getting a necessary quorum proved difficult given the size of the state and travel demands. On November 26, 1784, 33 additional members were appointed, twenty of them from New York City and affiliated with King's College (now known as Columbia University ). This arrangement also proved ineffective, so on April 13, 1787,

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1152-522: The state thereafter. On April 13, 1787, the legislature enacted a law that allowed individual educational institutions to have their own trustees (making Columbia a private institution) and gave the Regents broader responsibilities for overseeing education in New York. The new law empowered the Regents to "visit and inspect all the colleges, academies, and schools" in the state, award higher academic degrees , hold and distribute funds, and exercise other powers of

1188-891: The state's local historical societies ; and 25 public broadcasting facilities. Also included in USNY are the State Archives; a special school for the blind and another special school for the deaf ; as well as vocational rehabilitation and special education services. Additionally, USNY has the affiliation of, and oversight for, more than half a million professionals practicing in 58 licensed professions , ranging from accountancy to architecture to engineering to massage therapy to hair styling , as well as 200,000 public certified school teachers, counselors, and administrators. Certain education-related institutions (such as most museums ) could exist in New York State without being part of USNY; however, as an example, most museums in New York State choose to be part of USNY (i.e., be chartered by

1224-427: The superintendent of public instruction. Vacancies were filled by joint ballot of the state legislature. The regents were made a constitutional body, no longer defined by statute, in 1894. In 1904, the board was reorganized again and the ex officio members were legislated out. The offices of superintendent of public instruction and secretary of the board of regents were abolished and the duties of both transferred to

1260-439: The two levels. Accreditation of higher education varies by jurisdiction and may focus on either or both the institution and the individual programs of study. Higher education accreditation in the United States has long been established as a peer review process coordinated by accreditation commissions and member institutions. The federal government began to play a limited role in higher education accreditation in 1952 with

1296-449: Was an outgrowth of the practice of giving World War II veterans school and college credit in recognition of their military education and experience. In 1963 the Regents introduced College Proficiency Examinations, now called Excelsior College Examinations (ECEs), initially to help teachers and nurses complete educational requirements. First named the "Regents External Degree Program," it was established in 1971 with financial support from

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