| Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools | |
| Map: | MSA map.png |
| Msize: | 175px |
| Mcaption: | MSA operational area |
| Abbreviation: | MSA-CESS |
| Formation: | 1887 |
| Status: | Association |
| Purpose: | Educational accreditation |
| Headquarters: | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Region Served: | The United States and over 100 countries world-wide |
| Main Organ: | Board of Trustees |
The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, also referred to as Middle States Association or MSA, is a voluntary, peer-based, Philadelphia-based non-profit association that performs peer evaluation and regional accreditation of public and private schools in the Mid-Atlantic United States and certain foreign institutions of American origin.
The association includes three separate commissions:
The higher education commission, MSCHE, and the other two commissions now operate independently. The MSCES and the MSCSS operate together as an organization sometimes known as the MSA-CESS. The accreditation of post-secondary schools by the MSCSS is limited to those that do not confer degrees or offer technical programs.[1]
The Middle States Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools (M.S.A.-C.E.S.S.) accredits nearly 2600 public and private schools and school systems throughout the United States and in more than 100 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.