The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (Middle States Association or MSA) is a voluntary, peer-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 MSA has until at least 2013 comprised three separate commissions:
Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE)Middle States Commission on Elementary Schools (MSCES)Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools (MSCSS)
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 that offer technical programs.
MSCHE's headquarters are in Center City, Philadelphia.