The Council on Academic Accreditation of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association is the sole provider of accreditation, recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. That means that any institution that has or wishes to have an accredited program in audiology or speech and language pathology must be accredited by the ASHA. This is not to say that all programs are accredited, but if they are the stamp of approval is done by the ASHA.

The ASHA is also recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as a valid agency of accreditation. The accrediting council looks over audiology and speech and language pathology programs offering master's and doctoral level degrees, including those done through distance education.

Certificates are issued only to graduate programs which meet the high quality standards set by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Students looking into graduate work in this field should only seriously consider programs with approval by this accrediting agency because it means the program has passed the thorough process of accreditation. Programs are awarded accreditations worth five to eight years, after which they can apply for a renewal of their certificate. Students enrolled in such an accredited program can also very easily gain a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the ASHA.