BAC • British Accreditation Council

BAC is an independent organisation that was established as the national accrediting body for independent post-16 education in the UK. BAC is a not-for-profit charitable organisation and is self-financing through accreditation fees. It receives no public funding. BAC is a non-regulatory body and higher education institutions applying for accreditation approach BAC voluntarily. Accreditation by BAC is recognised by the UK government in connection with the granting of Student Visitor visas.

BAC accredits institutions. Institutions applying for accreditation vary greatly in size and in the character of provision – many are specialist institutions offering only a small number of study programmes. To reflect the diversity of the sector, BAC operates different accreditation schemes to cover all types of providers. There are two schemes for international providers – Independent Higher Education and International Centre. BAC accreditation is only available to private providers. BAC also offers a consultancy service in all aspects of quality assurance and accreditation.

BAC is currently undergoing a targeted review coordinated by ENQA. More information can be found here.

BAC is registered on EQAR.