About HCDE

Distance and online education has opened learning to people who could never sit in a lecture hall. It has also made it harder to tell good provision from poor. HCDE exists to help with that one problem: giving learners, employers and institutions a clear, evidence-based and checkable judgement of quality.

What we do

HCDE reviews institutions, training centers and online programs against standards that we publish in full. Where the standards are met, we accredit, and we record the decision in a public registry with a registration number, a certificate number and the dates it covers. Anyone can check a record without asking the institution.

We also offer two related services: a review of an organisation's own training and quality practices, and a private evaluation of an individual's qualifications and experience.

Who we work with

What we are, and what we are not

That means two things. HCDE's judgement stands or falls on the quality of its standards and the integrity of its process, which is why we publish both. And an HCDE accreditation is not a licence to operate, a government approval or a guarantee that a qualification will be accepted for a particular purpose. Anyone who needs that should ask the authority concerned.

How we are organised

HCDE separates the people who review from the people who decide, and the people who decide from the people who hear appeals. The structure is described on the Governance page, and the rules that protect independence are set out under Independence and Transparency.

Where we are

HCDE's office address is 500 Delaware Ave, Wilmington, DE 19801, USA. You can write to [email protected] for general questions, and to [email protected] about the verification of a record.