ACCE is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) as the accrediting agency for four year baccalaureate degree programs in construction, construction science, construction management, and construction technology, and as the accrediting agency for two year associate-degree programs of a like nature.

Organized in 1974, ACCE enjoys the support of the principal building and contracting national associations, the American Institute of Constructors, the constructor’s professional organization, and the Associated Schools of Construction, academic institutions seeking to satisfy the needs for well educated and trained entrants into the constructor profession.

By working together under the aegis of ACCE, persons representative of the total construction community and the public at large, construction educators and constructors establish and maintain standards and criteria for accreditation, provide guidance to those seeking to achieve accredited status, and carry out the accreditation and reaccreditation processes. In doing so, ACCE serves the interests of potential students by helping them identify institutions and programs that offer quality education in the field, and serves the interests of the industry by enabling employers to identify persons who, by reason of their education and training, have the potential for making lasting contributions to the industry and their profession. However, ACCE also serves the interests of owners/users of constructed facilities and the public at large by raising the professional caliber of constructors and thus the quality of the construction for which they assume responsibility.

ACCE and the Chartered Institute of Building in the United Kingdom have a reciprocity agreement whereby ACCE recognizes university degree programs accredited by the Chartered Institute of Building as equivalent to baccalaureate programs accredited by ACCE. In turn, CIOB recognizes baccalaureate programs accredited by ACCE as equivalent to university degree programs accredited by CIOB. This agreement was the culmination of a period of evaluation by both parties embracing academic standards comparability, exchange of procedural information and reciprocal observation of accreditation visits.