Accreditation of a degree-granting HIM program helps to ensure that the student is attending a college that is compliant with higher education expectations for a valid and complete education. Additionally, program accreditation makes sure that the curriculum is relevant and up-to-date to prepare graduates for today's electronic healthcare environment. For HIM programs that organization is the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management Education (CAHIIM). A CAHIIM accredited program meets or exceeds the minimum standards for a HIM academic program. This is your assurance of a quality educational experience that supports job marketability, and establishes a graduate's eligibility for FORE scholarships and professional credentials.

If it is a new HIM program, they may be working toward accreditation; if so, the program will identify itself as being "in candidacy" to become CAHIIM accredited. If you graduate from a program that is not currently CAHIIM accredited or in candidacy status, you will not be able to qualify to sit for the AHIMA credentialing exam, so it is important to understand where your program stands in regards to being or becoming CAHIIM accredited.

Any school with an HIM program identified as accredited by the CAHIIM (the accrediting organization for HIM programs) will enable you on graduation to apply to take the AHIMA national entry-level professional certification exam to become either an RHIA (baccalaureate or post-baccalaureate level) or RHIT (associate degree level). To learn more about the accrediting organization please visit: www.cahiim.org where you can view all accredited programs by selecting "Program Directory" from the navigation bar. To see what programs are in candidacy, select "Announcements" from the navigation bar. All CAHIIM accredited programs must cover the same domains of instruction and have qualified faculty. So the next level of decision is to select a program based on: tuition costs, admission requirements (some are competitive for placement), and whether you want a traditional classroom experience or a distance education experience.