This document consists of five fact sheets from the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. The first fact sheet, Overview of Accreditation, provides information on the numbers of accredited institutions of higher learning in the United States and the types and numbers of accrediting organizations. The fact sheet also discusses the purposes of accreditation and the accreditation of distance education programs. The second fact sheet, The Role of Accreditation and Assuring Quality in Electronically Delivered Distance Learning, provides a brief description of the role of accreditation in ensuring quality as distance education opportunities expand and diversify. Fact Sheet # 3 contains Twelve Important Questions about External Quality Review. These are questions that students and others might find useful to ask about the external quality review of a course, institution, or program in which they might enroll. The fourth sheet, A Framework for Meeting Transfer of Credit Responsibilities, describes the responsibilities to students and the public that accrediting organizations and institutions are asked to consider when addressing transfer of credit requests and academic quality. The final sheet, "Accrediting Organizations in the U.S.: How Do They Operate to Assure Quality?" provides a brief overview of how U.S. accrediting organizations carry out their work: information about standards and policies of individual accrediting organizations, governance and organization of accreditors, and how to find information about accredited institutions and programs. (SLD)