据了解，美国宪法规定，各州政府负责注册并审批各类高等院校，但各院校是否被社会所认可则取决于政府承认的认证机构的认证。

　　美国高等院校包括公立与私立两种。主要实行二年学制或四年学制，二年制的多为技术专科学校和社区学院。据统计，目前美国各类高等院校有3600多所。

　　美国高等院校的质量认证一般由专业认证机构负责，经美国教育部认可的专业认证机构主要有六大区域认证机构及近百个专业认证机构。联邦政府通过认证机构间接起到对各院校的管理与规范。全美高等教育认证委员会（CHEA）是协调并审核认证机构的专业机构。 通过区域性认证协会或其它专业认证机构的认证，各院校可实现学分相互转换，所颁发的学位证书或文凭证书能获得社会的广泛认可。

　　2012年美国马萨诸塞州教育部批准境外正规高校名单：

　　Massachusetts

　　Ailano School of Cosmetology (Brockton)

　　American International College (Springfield)

　　Amherst College (Amherst)

　　Andover Newton Theological School (Newton)

　　Andover Newton Theological School (Newton Centre)

　　Anglo-Continental Boston, Inc. (Cambridge)

　　Anna Maria College (Paxton)

　　Assumption College (Worcester)

　　Atlantic Union College (South Lancaster)

　　Babson College (Wellesley)

　　Bancroft School of Massage Therapy (Worcester)

　　Bay Path College (Longmeadow)

　　Bay State College (Boston)

　　Bay State College (Middleborough)

　　Bay State School of Technology (Canton)

　　Becker College (Worcester)

　　Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology (Boston)

　　Bentley College (Waltham)

　　Berklee College of Music (Boston)

　　Berkshire Community College (Pittsfield)

　　Blaine, The Beauty Career Schools (Boston)

　　Blaine, The Beauty Career Schools (Framingham)

　　Blaine, The Beauty Career Schools (Hyannis)

　　Blaine, The Beauty Career Schools (Lowell)

　　Blaine, The Beauty Career Schools (Malden)

　　Blaine, The Beauty Career Schools (Waltham)

　　Blessed John XXIII National Seminary (Weston)

　　Boston Architectural Center (Boston)

　　Boston Baptist College (Boston)

　　Boston College (Chestnut Hill)

　　Boston Conservatory (Boston)

　　Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis (Brookline)

　　Boston University (Boston)

　　Boston University School of Theology (Boston)

　　Brandeis University (Waltham)

　　Branford Hall Career Institute (Springfield)

　　Bridgewater State College (Bridgewater)

　　Bristol Community College (Fall River)

　　Bryman Institute (Brighton)

　　Bunker Hill Community College (Boston)

　　Butera School of Art (Boston)

　　Cambridge College (Cambridge)

　　The Cambridge School of (Cambridge)

　　Cape Cod Community College (West Barnstable)

　　Capilo Institute of Skin, Hair & Nails (Augusta)

　　Catherine E. Hinds Institute of (Woburn)

　　Clark University (Worcester)

　　College of the Holy Cross (Worcester)

　　College of Our Lady of the Elms (Chicopee)

　　Computer-Ed Institute (Brockton)

　　Computer-Ed Institute (Lowell)

　　Computer-Ed Institute (Somerville)

　　Conway School of Landscape Design Inc. (Conway)

　　Curry College (Milton)

　　Dean College (Franklin)

　　East Coast Aero Tech (Bedford)

　　Eastern Nazarene College (Quincy)

　　EF International Schools of English in Boston (Boston)

　　Electrology Institute of N.E. Inc. (Tewksbury)

　　The Elizabeth Grady School of Esthetics (Medford)

　　Emerson College (Boston)

　　Emmanuel College (Boston)

　　Endicott College (Beverly)

　　Episcopal Divinity School (Cambridge)

　　Fisher College (Boston)

　　Fitchburg State College (Fitchburg)

　　Framingham State College (Framingham)

　　Gibbs College (Boston)

　　Gordon College (Wenham)

　　Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (South Hamilton)

　　Greenfield Community College (Greenfield)

　　Hair In Motion Beauty Academy (Worcester)

　　Hallmark Institute of Photography (Turners Falls)

　　Hampshire College (Amherst)

　　Harvard University (Cambridge)

　　Harvard University Divinity School (Cambridge)

　　Headhunter Spa Tech Institute (Ipswich)

　　Headhunter Spa Tech Institute (Plymouth)

　　Headhunter Spa Tech Institute (Westboro)

　　Hebrew College (Newton Centre)

　　Hellenic College (Brookline)

　　Henri‘s School of Hair Design (Fitchburg)

　　Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology (Brookline)

　　Holyoke Community College (Holyoke)

　　Hult International Business School (Cambridge)

　　International Language Institute of Massachusetts, Inc. (Northampton)

　　ITT Technical Institute (Norwood)

　　ITT Technical Institute (Woburn)

　　Jolie Hair and Beauty Academy Inc. (Ludlow)

　　Kay Harvey Hairdressing Academy (West Springfield)

　　LaBaron Hairdressing Academy (Brockton)

　　LaBaron Hairdressing Academy (New Bedford)

　　Laboure College (Boston)

　　Lasell College (Auburndale)

　　Learning Institute for Beauty Sciences (Boston)

　　Learning Institute for Beauty Sciences (Malden)

　　Lesley University (Cambridge)

　　Longy School of Music (Cambridge)

　　Lowell Academy Hairstyling Institute (Lowell)

　　Mansfield Beauty School (Quincy)

　　Mansfield Beauty School (Springfield)

　　Marian Court College (Swampscott)

　　Massachusetts Bay Community College (Wellesley Hills)

　　Massachusetts Career Development Institute,Inc. (Springfield)

　　Massachusetts College of Art (Boston)

　　Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (North Adams)

　　Massachusetts College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences (Boston)

　　Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge)

　　Massachusetts Maritime Academy (Buzzards Bay)

　　Massachusetts School of Barbering & (Quincy)

　　Massachusetts School of Law at Andover (Andover)

　　Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology (Boston)

　　Massasoit Community College (Brockton)

　　Medical Professional Institute (Malden)

　　Merrimack College (North Andover)

　　MGH Institute of Health Professions (Boston)

　　Middlesex Community College (Bedford)

　　Mildred Elley (Pittsfield)

　　Montserrat College of Art (Beverly)

　　Mount Holyoke College (South Hadley)

　　Mount Ida College (Newton Centre)

　　Mount Wachusett Community College (Gardner)

　　Muscular Therapy Institute (Cambridge)

　　National Graduate School of Quality Mgmt., Inc. (Falmouth)

　　New England College of Finance (Boston)

　　New England College of Optometry (Boston)

　　New England Conservatory of Music (Boston)

　　New England Hair Academy (Malden)

　　New England Institute of Art and Communications (Brookline)

　　The New England School of English (Cambridge)

　　New England School of Photography (Boston)

　　Newbury College (Brookline)

　　Nichols College (Dudley)

　　North Bennet Street School (Boston)

　　North Shore Community College (Danvers)

　　Northeastern University (Boston)

　　Northern Essex Community College (Haverhill)

　　The Olin Center for International Study, Inc. (Boston)

　　Performance Training Associates, Inc. (Waltham)

　　Pine Manor College (Chestnut Hill)

　　Porter and Chester Institute (Chicopee)

　　Quincy College (Quincy)

　　Quinsigamond Community College (Worcester)

　　Regis College (Weston)

　　RETS Technical Center (Boston)

　　Rob Roy Academy Fall River Campus (Fall River)

　　Rob Roy Academy Inc. (New Bedford)

　　Rob Roy Academy, Inc. (Worcester)

　　Rob Roy Academy - Taunton Campus (Taunton)

　　Roxbury Community College (Roxbury Crossing)

　　Saint John’s Seminary (Brighton)

　　St. John‘s Seminary (MA) (Brighton)

　　Salem State College (Salem)

　　Salter School (Fall River)

　　Salter School (Malden)

　　Salter School (Tewksbury)

　　Salter School (Worcester)

　　Simmons College (Boston)

　　Simon’s Rock College of Bard (Great Barrington)

　　Smith College (Northampton)

　　Southern New England School of Law (North Dartmouth)

　　Springfield College (Springfield)

　　Springfield Technical Community College (Springfield)

　　Stonehill College (Easton)

　　Suffolk University (Boston)

　　Thoreau Language Institute (Boston)

　　Tufts University (Medford)

　　Ultrasound Diagnostic School (Springfield)

　　University of Massachusetts Amherst (Amherst)

　　University of Massachusetts Boston (Boston)

　　University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (North Dartmouth)

　　University of Massachusetts Lowell (Lowell)

　　University of Massachusetts Worcester (Worcester)

　　Urban College of Boston (Boston)

　　Wellesley College (Wellesley)

　　Wentworth Institute of Technology (Boston)

　　Western New England College (Springfield)

　　Westfield State College (Westfield)

　　Weston Jesuit School of Theology (Cambridge)

　　Wheaton College (Norton)

　　Wheelock College (Boston)

　　Williams College (Williamstown)

　　Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (Woods Hole)

　　Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Worcester)

　　Worcester State College (Worcester)