CIEES

What CIEES does

CIEES (Los Comités Interinstitucionales para la Evaluación de la Educación Superior, A.C.) is a Mexican non-profit civil association established in 1991 through an agreement between the Secretaría de Educación Pública (SEP) and the Asociación Nacional de Universidades e Instituciones de Educación Superior (ANUIES), headquartered in Mexico City with approximately 85 employees. The organization provides external evaluation and accreditation services for higher education institutions and their academic programs across all levels (TSU, bachelor's, specialty, master's, doctorate), operating through eight specialized interinstitutional committees covering distinct knowledge areas. It became the first agency integrated into the SEAES (Sistema de Evaluación y Acreditación de la Educación Superior) registry in May 2024, anchoring its position within Mexico's new national quality assurance framework.

The core technology and methodology is the Marco General de Evaluación 2024 (GEF 2024), aligned with LGES, PNEAES and MGSEAES, supported by the GAPES self-evaluation platform used by institutions during the initial evaluation stage. CIEES is accredited by CONOCER as a Labor Competency Evaluation and Certification Entity and has registered competency standards (EC1320, EC1314, EC1409) for peer evaluators. Service delivery is via direct institutional engagement — on-site, hybrid or remote external evaluation visits — followed by deliberative committee processes that issue accreditation decisions. Supporting offerings include a Diplomado (120-hour training) developed with BUAP that has trained 1,600+ evaluators from 154 institutions, CONOCER-backed competency certification, diagnostic evaluations, improvement plans, webinars, and a digital journal.

Revenue is generated through recovery fees from evaluation and accreditation services, participant fees for the diplomado and training programs, and certification fees under CONOCER standards; specific pricing is not publicly disclosed. The customer base is concentrated in Mexican public autonomous universities (UANL, UASLP, UAT, UABCS, UNACH) with international extension into Peru (Universidad Nacional del Altiplano, Universidad Científica del Sur, Universidad Andina del Cusco, UPCH). Strategic partnerships anchor the model: SEP, ANUIES, CONOCER, BUAP, SIACES, INQAAHE and CHEA. The organization maintains ISO 9001 certification and is governed by a General Assembly that ratified Miguel Ángel Tamayo Taype as Coordinator General for the 2023–2027 period.

Name

CIEES

Legal name

Los Comités Interinstitucionales para la Evaluación de la Educación Superior, A.C.

Website

https://ciees.edu.mx

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

CIEES is a Mexican non-profit civil association founded in 1991 that provides external evaluation, accreditation, and competency certification services for higher education institutions and academic programs, operating under SEP and ANUIES oversight as the first agency in Mexico's SEAES registry.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Quality Assurance

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Regional/Institutional Accreditors (Universities & Colleges) (EDADACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Accreditation Standards, Benchmarking & Framework Organizations (EDADACAJ), International/Transnational Accreditation & Recognition Bodies (EDADACAG), Continuing Education (CE/CPD) & Provider Accreditation Bodies (EDADACAF), Online/Distance Education Quality & Accreditation Bodies (EDADACAK)

Keywords

• Higher education accreditation
• Program evaluation services
• Quality assurance education
• Competency certification
• Institutional assessment

Headquarters

HQ city

Mexico City

HQ country

Mexico

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Program Evaluation and Accreditation Services: CIEES provides evaluation and accreditation services for educational programs and higher education institutions at the request of the institutions. Fees are determined based on service recovery fees guidelines.
2. Training and Diplomas: The organization offers diploma programs such as the 'Diplomado en Evaluaciones Internas y Externas de Programas Educativos y Gestión en Educación Superior' in collaboration with BUAP. This generates revenue through participant fees.
3. Competency Certification Services: CIEES operates as an accredited Evaluation and Certification Entity by CONOCER to train, evaluate and certify competencies of persons supporting key processes in higher education institutions. Certification fees apply for evaluators and evaluation centers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CIEES provides external evaluation and accreditation services for higher education institutions and educational programs in Mexico and Latin America, assessing institutional functions and program quality against national and international standards. The organization also delivers competency certification of peer evaluators under CONOCER-accredited standards (EC1320, EC1314, EC1409) and training programs, including a 120-hour Diplomado co-developed with BUAP that has trained over 1,600 evaluators from 154 institutions.

Product overview

CIEES offers a comprehensive suite of quality assurance services for higher education institutions comprising both core evaluation/accreditation products and supporting services. The core offerings include Institutional Accreditation and Program Accreditation (evaluating institutions and educational programs against national and international quality standards), supported by Diagnostic Evaluation and Improvement Plan services. The organization also provides Competency Certification under CONOCER standards (with multiple competency standards including EC1320, EC1314, EC1409, and others), and Training Courses including a specialized Diplomado developed with BUAP. Additional services include Webinars, the CIEES Digital Journal, and Technical Documents. The evaluation processes utilize the General Evaluation Framework (GEF) 2024 and the GAPES self-evaluation tool. CIEES provides evaluation services across multiple modalities (face-to-face, online, hybrid, and dual) and at all higher education levels (TSU, Bachelor's, Specialty, Master's, Doctorate).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Institutional Accreditation Comprehensive evaluation and accreditation of higher education institutions against specific quality standards, assessing their commitment to excellence in achieving institutional objectives and functions. Targeted at public and private universities seeking formal recognition of institutional quality.
• Program Accreditation Evaluation service that ensures educational programs effectively fulfill their educational purpose by comparing outcomes against criteria based on national and international best practices. Covers TSU, Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate level programs.
• Diagnostic Evaluation Preliminary evaluation service to assess institutional readiness and identify areas for improvement before formal accreditation processes.
• Improvement Plan Structured guidance service to help institutions develop and implement improvement strategies based on evaluation findings.
• Competency Certification Professional certification service under CONOCER standards for competency evaluation, offering multiple competency standards including EC1320, EC1314, EC1409, EC0076, EC0217.01, EC0301, EC0336, EC0362, and EC0366. Provided to peer evaluators and evaluation centers.
• Diplomado en Evaluaciones Internas y Externas de Programas Educativos y Gestión en Educación Superior A 120-hour online diploma program developed jointly with BUAP for training evaluators, aligned with CIEES evaluation framework and SEAES standards. Has trained over 1,600 evaluators from 154 institutions since August 2020 and is validated by SIACES as Good Practice in Training.
• Training Courses Educational training programs offered to strengthen evaluation and accreditation capacities of higher education institutions.
• GAPES Self-Evaluation Platform Self-evaluation platform providing institutions with access credentials to conduct internal self-evaluation as part of the accreditation process. Used by institutions during the initial stage of the evaluation process.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% accreditation achieved by UAT for all its educational programs
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, supporting and minor.

• SEAES (Sistema de Evaluación y Acreditación de la Educación Superior)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 May 2024CIEES became the first agency incorporated into the SEAES registry. The Marco General de Evaluación 2024 is the only framework articulated with SEAES, guaranteeing that CIEES criteria and standards are in complete harmony with national guidelines.
• BUAP (Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2020Collaboration on the 'Diplomado en Evaluaciones Internas y Externas de Programas Educativos y Gestión en Educación Superior'. Since August 2020, the diplomado has trained over 1,600 evaluators from 154 institutions. Validated by SIACES as Buena Práctica en Formación. The diplomado integrates CIEES evaluation framework aligned with LGES and SEAES.
• CONOCER (Consejo Nacional de Normalización y Certificación de Competencias Laborales)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIEES is accredited by CONOCER as a Labor Competency Evaluation and Certification Entity. They operate a Higher Education Competency Management Committee affiliated with CONOCER for developing labor competency standards. The EC1320 and EC1314 standards were developed in collaboration. Dr. Miguel Ángel Tamayo Taype played a key role in CONOCER's creation through PMETIC.
• SEP (Secretaría de Educación Pública)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIEES was created through an agreement between SEP and ANUIES in 1991. Ongoing collaboration includes presentation of Marco General de Evaluación 2024, participation in SIACES plenaries, and recognition by the Secretary of Public Education.
• ANUIES (Asociación Nacional de Universidades e Instituciones de Educación Superior)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIEES was established through an agreement between SEP and ANUIES. ANUIES hosts CIEES events such as Ordinary Sessions where institutional accreditations are delivered. Collaboration on national education conferences.
• SIACES (Sistema Iberoamericano de Aseguramiento de la Calidad de la Educación Superior)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIEES participates in SIACES plenaries and has received recognition from SIACES. The diplomado was validated by SIACES as Buena Práctica en Formación. CIEES's competency certification was recognized as a good practice in Latin America.
• Becas SantandersupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerCIEES conducted the first work session of a collaborative workshop with Becas Santander to promote continuous improvement in higher education. The workshop ran from November to January focusing on competency development in self-evaluation processes.
• SECTEI (Secretaría de Educación Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación - Ciudad de México)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMarco Coordination Agreement signed between SECTEI, RED ECOS, and CIEES to contribute to excellence of higher education in Mexico City.
• INQAAHE, CHEAminorOthersInternational memberships demonstrating adherence to international quality assurance standards in higher education
• ANEAES (Paraguay), CUMEX, QUALITAS, HCERES (France), UOC, ACBSPminorOthersAgreements and partnerships with international quality assurance agencies for cross-border recognition and collaboration

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• CHEA (Council for Higher Education Accreditation): US-based umbrella recognition body for higher education accreditors, of which CIEES is an international member. CHEA coordinates accreditation quality assurance and standards, comparable to CIEES's role within Mexico's SEAES-aligned ecosystem.
• WSCUC (WASC Senior College and University Commission): US regional accreditor for senior colleges and universities, recognized by CHEA. Comparable as a regional institutional accreditor with similar scope to CIEES but operating in the US with a much broader portfolio of accredited institutions.
• Higher Learning Commission (HLC): Largest US regional accreditor covering 1,000+ institutions across 19 states. A broader incumbent in the same regional HE accreditation category as CIEES but with far greater scale, US-specific scope, and CHEA recognition.

Regional players

• CNA-Chile (Comisión Nacional de Acreditación): Chile's national higher education accreditation commission. Comparable to CIEES as a Latin American institutional/program accreditor with mandatory accreditation dimensions; operates in Chile, not Mexico, but addresses the same higher education quality assurance problem.
• SINAES (Sistema Nacional de Acreditación de la Educación Superior): Costa Rica's national HE accreditation system. Comparable peer agency doing program and institutional accreditation in Latin America; serves Central America rather than Mexico but shares Ibero-American quality assurance frameworks with CIEES via SIACES.
• CONEAU (Comisión Nacional de Evaluación y Acreditación Universitaria): Argentina's national higher education evaluation and accreditation agency. Directly comparable to CIEES as a Latin American national HE accreditor with government mandate and similar institutional accreditation functions, but operating primarily in Argentina rather than Mexico.
• ANEAES (Agencia Nacional de Evaluación y Acreditación de la Educación Superior): Paraguay's national higher education evaluation and accreditation agency. Comparable as a LatAm HE accreditor, and explicitly named as a CIEES international agreement partner for cross-border recognition and collaboration.

Direct peers

• RIACES (Red Iberoamericana para el Aseguramiento de la Calidad en la Educación Superior): Ibero-American network of HE quality assurance agencies. CIEES is a member; RIACES provides the regional coordination layer for accreditors, putting it in a directly comparable ecosystem role across Latin America.
• SIACES (Sistema Iberoamericano de Aseguramiento de la Calidad de la Educación Superior): Ibero-American system for quality assurance in higher education. CIEES actively participates in SIACES plenaries and has received recognition from SIACES for its competency certification practice, making SIACES a directly comparable regional QA umbrella entity.
• COPAES (Consejo para la Acreditación de la Educación Superior): Mexico's official recognition body for higher education accreditors. COPAES recognizes and oversees accrediting organizations operating in Mexico, putting it in the same Mexican HE quality assurance ecosystem as CIEES; both interact with SEP and ANUIES on national accreditation policy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights1 record

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ciees_mx
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@cieesmx3740
• Facebookfacebook.com/cieesmx
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cieesmx
• Instagraminstagram.com/ciees_mx

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about CIEES