Comisión Nacional de Acreditación CAN

Overview

The Comisión Nacional de Acreditación (CNA) is the national quality‐assurance authority for higher education in Chile. Tasked with overseeing and accrediting universities, professional institutes and technical training centres, the CNA evaluates both entire institutions and the specific programmes they offer. It was created by Law 20.129, promulgated on 17 November 2006, which expanded Chile’s existing system into a comprehensive public, autonomous body. In 2018, Law 21.091 formally established the Sistema Nacional de Aseguramiento de la Calidad de la Educación Superior, integrating the CNA within a broader institutional framework alongside the Ministry of Education’s Subsecretaría de Educación Superior, the Consejo Nacional de Educación and the recently created Superintendencia de Educación Superior.

According to uniRank, the CNA is recognised as a public and autonomous organisation that applies national standards updated periodically and provides guidance to institutions striving for national and international recognition.

History and Legal Framework

Quality assurance in Chilean higher education originated with the experimental process under the Comisión Nacional de Acreditación de Pregrado (CNAP), established in 1999 by Decreto Supremo 51. After a formative decade of pilot evaluations, CNAP was transformed into the CNA via Law 20.129 (2006), mandating accreditation as a requirement for state support and access to financial aid for students. The 2018 reform (Law 21.091) modernised the framework by:

1. Creating the Subsecretaría de Educación Superior and the Superintendencia de Educación Superior;
2. Updating the composition and governance of the CNA;
3. Extending evaluative coverage to post‑graduate degrees, medical and dental specialties;
4. Requiring explicit articulation between institutional licensing, accreditation and public accountability.

Since October 2023, a newly published body of Criterios y Estándares governs the evaluation of universities, technical‑professional institutions, programmes of pedagogy, medicine, doctoral, master’s and health‑area specialties—establishing a consistent evaluative baseline aligned with evolving international norms.

Mission, Vision and Objectives in Chile’s Higher Education

The CNA’s formal mission is:

“Promover, evaluar y acreditar la calidad de las Instituciones de Educación Superior de Chile, así como de sus carreras y programas.”

This definition emphasises evidence‑based evaluation of internal quality assurance mechanisms and the issuance of public judgements about institutional and programme quality over a defined period. Accreditation, as stated in the mission, is intended as a public certification that endorses continuity and improvement in a given institution’s declared purposes.

The CNA’s vision aspires to make it a national guarantor of educational quality and an international benchmark among accreditation agencies—recognised for excellence in promoting continuous improvement and informed public trust in Chile’s higher education system.

Its key objectives include:

• Operating nationally transparent evaluations of institutional and programme quality.
• Developing and updating interdisciplinary standards and criteria via dialogue across subsystems.
• Promoting best practices and improvement processes internally within each accredited entity.
• Managing publicly available information on accreditation status via the Sistema de Información de Educación Superior (SIES).
• Fostering dialogue on quality assurance and institutional culture across regional and disciplinary contexts.

Governance, Structure and Independence

The CNA is governed by a collegial board of 12 commissioned members appointed by the President of the Republic (some requiring Senate confirmation), drawn from academia, technical‑professional institutions, innovation, scientific research and student representatives—with at least one student from a region outside the Santiago Metropolitan Area. This statutory design ensures pluralistic representation and political independence.

Day‑to‑day administration is handled by a Secretaría Ejecutiva, led by a Secretary Executive, which oversees evaluation logistics, peer evaluation training, public outreach and administrative functions.

Advisory bodies supporting the board include:

• Comités de Área—specialist panels that guide programme evaluations (pregrado, posgrado, pedagogía, salud).
• Registro de Pares Evaluadores—a pool of qualified academic and professional experts selected by open competition who conduct external reviews.
• Comités Consultivos—forums for broad stakeholder input (institutional leaders, unions, regional actors) whose non‑binding but influential perspectives help shape policy revisions and standard evolution.

Though the CNA sits within the constitutional umbrella of the Ministry of Education as part of the quality assurance system, Chilean law grants it operational autonomy and legal independence, in the expectation that its accreditation resolutions and standard‑setting be free of partisan influence.

Accreditation and Quality Evaluation Role in Higher Education

The CNA oversees two complementary streams of accreditation:

• Acreditación Institucional—focused on whole institutions (universidades, institutos profesionales, centros de formación técnica). It evaluates the alignment of institutional mission, self‑evaluation processes, governance structures, financial sustainability and mechanisms for assured continuous improvement.
• Acreditación de Programas—covers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes including obligatory evaluation for fields such as medicine, dentistry and pedagogy. These are reviewed against discipline‑specific criteria developed in consultation with academic associations and international benchmarks.

The accreditation process typically involves three stages:

1. Autoevaluación interna—the institution reviews its own performance against the most recent criteria with community participation.
2. Evaluación externa—peer evaluators conduct site visits, gather evidence and prepare an independent report.
3. Decisión de la CNA—based on combined inputs, the CNA issues an accreditation outcome, including duration (up to 7 years), conditions and recommendations; these decisions are publicly posted.

Since 2023, all processes are conducted according to the new Criterios y Estándares publication, with renewed emphasis on inclusion, regional equity, academic integrity and gender parity. The annual Barómetro del Aseguramiento de la Calidad, produced by the CNA, maps the accreditation landscape across all regions and institutional types as a tool for transparency and policy dialogue.

International Cooperation and Network Memberships

The CNA actively engages in international benchmarking and collaboration, including membership or signatory status in:

• INQAAHE (International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education)—external evaluation of CNA procedures affirms alignment with global standards.
• SIACES (Sistema Iberoamericano de Aseguramiento de la Calidad de la Educación Superior)—Chile co‑participates with agencies from Spain, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Mexico in regional quality assurance initiatives.
• Cooperation agreements with European and Latin American agencies such as ANECA (Spain), CACES (Ecuador), SINEACE (Peru) and with the OCDE for policy dialogue.
• Recognition by the Federación Mundial de Educación Médica (WFME) for accreditation via a 10‑year international endorsement.

Bilateral exchanges—including recent meetings with France’s HCÉRES and Mexico’s CIEES—have focused on sharing good practices in peer evaluation, criterion design and virtual education accreditation—while reinforcing CNA’s role as a national agency embedded in a global system of quality assurance.

Current or Future Impact on Higher Education

Chile’s accreditation ecosystem has seen a dramatic rise in institutional participation—today, over 90% of Chilean students attend accredited institutions and accreditation status influences access to financial aid and public investment. Regional universities, technical‑professional colleges and online institutions have made notable progress: for example, Instituto Profesional IPLACEX was the first online institution accredited by the CNA and subsequently became the first in Chile to earn recognition by the U.S. Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), underlining the expanding scope of virtual education quality.

Key future impacts include:

• Embedding a culture of continuous quality improvement and internal assurance in institutions across subsystems and regions.
• Enhancing international recognition of Chilean credentials via alignment with INQAAHE and WFME standards.
• Supporting equity and inclusion by integrating criteria on gender parity, access, student transition and regional coverage.
• Fostering institutional autonomy and integrity through transparent, rule‑based evaluation and public accountability tied to international norms.

Summary

Established in 2006 and modernised in 2018, the Comisión Nacional de Acreditación (CNA) is Chile’s autonomous public agency entrusted with certifying and promoting the quality of higher education. Via institutional and programme‑level accreditation, the CNA enforces standards that are publicly visible and regularly updated. Its governance and procedure design ensure representation and independence. By joining international accreditation networks and adapting criteria to include online education and social equity, the CNA is shaping a modern, credible and globally engaged higher education system in Chile.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the Comisión Nacional de Acreditación?
  It is Chile’s national accreditation agency, an autonomous public body created by law in 2006 to evaluate and accredit higher education institutions and their programmes.
• Is accreditation mandatory in Chile?
  Institutional accreditation is not legally mandatory, but it is effectively required for universities, professional institutes and technical training centres wishing to capture public funding and participate in student aid programmes. Certain programmes (e.g. medicine, dentistry, pedagogy) are also compulsory to operate.
• How long does accreditation last?
  The CNA can grant accreditation for up to 7 years, depending on institutional performance. Shorter periods may include recommendations or conditions for renewal.
• Who appoints the members of the CNA?
  The board’s 12 commissioners are appointed by the President of the Republic—some requiring Senate approval—selected from academia, technical‑professional backgrounds, innovation and student representation to ensure broad legitimacy and independence.
• What happens if an institution loses accreditation?
  Loss of accreditation affects a school’s access to student financial aid, public funding and eligibility to offer certain programmes; it may also result in supervised closure of failing institutions.
• How does the CNA ensure fairness in the evaluation process?
  By using peer evaluators appointed through open public competition, requiring transparency in criteria and outcomes and adhering to internationally aligned evaluation standards.
• Can an institution appeal a CNA decision?
  Yes. In institutional accreditation cases, institutions can file a reposición (reconsideration) with the CNA and subsequently appeal to the Consejo Nacional de Educación if dissatisfied.
• What role does the CNA play in online education?
  With evolving criteria and the recent example of IPLACEX—a pioneering online institution—Chile’s CNA is extending its accreditation responsibilities to virtual programmes and delivery modalities, setting precedents for online quality assurance.

Organization Name

Comisión Nacional de Acreditación
National Accreditation Commission

Acronym

CAN

Year of Establishment

17/11/2006

Control Type

Public

Entity Type

Non-Profit

Geo Focus and Coverage

National

Recognized by

n.a.

Affiliations or Memberships

n.a.

Number of Member Universities or Accredited Institutions

n.a.

Address

Avenida Ricardo Lyon Providencia 1532
Santiago
Región Metropolitana Chile

Phone

Fax

n.a.

Official Social Media Channels

Facebook

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X (Twitter)

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LinkedIn

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YouTube

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Instagram

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Wikipedia Article

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