National System of Accreditation of Higher Education

What National System of Accreditation of Higher Education does

The National System of Accreditation of Higher Education (SINAES) is the official body authorized by the Costa Rican state to accredit the quality of higher education institutions, careers, and programs, operating as an organ of public interest under Law N°8256 and strengthened by Law N°8798 (2010). Founded in 1999 through an agreement among four public universities (UCR, TEC, UNA, UNED) and four private universities, SINAES serves a domestic ecosystem of 33 affiliated universities, 5 parauniversities, 297 accredited careers and postgraduate programs, and 2,988 careers registered by degree and campus. Institutions voluntarily affiliate and then submit programs for evaluation through multi-phase processes including self-evaluation, external peer evaluation by 2 international and 1 national evaluators drawn from the Expert Registry (REX), and 4-year renewal cycles with continuous improvement commitments.

Name

National System of Accreditation of Higher Education

Legal name

Sistema Nacional de Acreditación de la Educación Superior (SINAES)

Website

https://sinaes.ac.cr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SINAES is the official Costa Rican state-authorized body that accredits the quality of higher education institutions, careers, and postgraduate programs, serving 33 universities, 5 parauniversities, and 297 accredited programs through voluntary affiliation and rigorous peer evaluation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Quality Assurance

NAICS

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

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

National/Institutional Accreditors (Career, Faith-Based, Distance, etc.) (EDADACAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Institutional & Programmatic Accreditation Audits (EDADAGAA), Higher Education Academic Standards & Degree Framework Authorities (EDADAEAG), Accreditation Standards, Benchmarking & Framework Organizations (EDADACAJ), Curriculum & Learning Outcomes Compliance Reviews (EDADAGAF), Online/Distance Education Quality & Accreditation Bodies (EDADACAK)

Keywords

• Higher education accreditation
• Quality assurance services
• Academic program evaluation
• Institutional certification
• Education quality standards

Headquarters

HQ city

San José

HQ country

Costa Rica

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government funding (Aportes del Gobierno): Permanent government funding established by Law 8798, provided through state contributions to support SINAES operations as an autonomous public institution.
2. Accreditation processing fees: Income derived from accreditation processing fees and services related to the accreditation procedures. Institutions pay established tariffs for affiliation and submission of self-evaluation reports.
3. Cooperation agreements: Revenue from cooperation agreements with national and international institutions for joint projects, training, and research activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SINAES accredits the quality of higher education institutions, degree programs (carreras), and postgraduate programs in Costa Rica through voluntary self-evaluation and external peer review against established quality criteria. The organization maintains multiple discipline-specific accreditation models covering undergraduate, parauniversity, postgraduate, distance education, architecture, engineering, and law programs. SINAES also delivers training, capacity building, international agency recognition, and research programs through its INDEIN division.

Product overview

The National System of Accreditation of Higher Education (SINAES) operates as an institutional quality assurance system for Costa Rican higher education. Its portfolio consists of a core accreditation system (SINAES Accreditation System) supported by several technology platforms: the Expert Registry (REX) web platform for managing peer evaluators, the Aula Virtual virtual learning environment for training, and the Mapa de Acreditaciones Power BI dashboard for public accreditation data. SINAES offers multiple discipline-specific accreditation models (2025 undergraduate model, 2009 undergraduate model, parauniversity, postgraduate, distance education, architecture, engineering, and law models) as evaluation frameworks. The organization also delivers research programs through its INDEIN division, quality culture programs, international agency recognition services, free training and advisory services, and government hiring incentive coordination. The system covers 33 universities, 5 parauniversities, 297 accredited careers and postgraduate programs, and 2,988 careers by degree and campus across Costa Rica.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SINAES Accreditation System The core accreditation system evaluating and officially certifying the quality of higher education institutions, careers, and programs in Costa Rica through self-evaluation, external peer evaluation, and continuous improvement phases. Intended for affiliated Costa Rican universities, parauniversities, and their academic programs.
• Registro de Expertos (REX) Web platform for registering and managing national and international academic professionals qualified to serve as peer evaluators in accreditation processes; requires online registration with academic credentials, teaching experience, professional background, and CV uploads. Used by SINAES and prospective external evaluators.
• Aula Virtual SINAES Online learning environment delivering training courses, certifications, micro-credentials, and capacity-building programs for higher education personnel involved in accreditation processes. Free to affiliated institutions and careers.
• Mapa de Acreditaciones (Power BI Dashboard) Public interactive Power BI dashboard displaying all SINAES-accredited careers and programs, filterable by university, province, knowledge area, or academic degree. Provides real-time accreditation status data to students, parents, employers, and institutions.
• Reconocimiento de Agencias de Acreditación Extranjeras Service for recognizing international accreditation agencies and substantial equivalence of foreign accreditations in Costa Rica. Currently authorizes agencies including COMAEM for medical education (valid February 7, 2025 to February 7, 2029) and AAPIA for engineering and architecture programs (same period).
• Training and Advisory Services Free capacity-building and advisory services for higher education institutions including formal training courses, hands-on workshops, and institutional strengthening through national and international networks and cooperation agreements.
• INDEIN Research and Innovation Programs Research, development, and innovation programs including the III Collaborative Research Program (ProïLab) 2025-2027, monthly Virtual Academic Encounters (EAV), and investigations on accreditation contributions, sustainable development goals, teaching strengthening, and micro-credentials quality assurance.
• SINAES Quality Culture Programs Programs for building quality culture including the SINAES Chair 'Enrique Góngora Trejos, Educación Superior y Sociedad' and the Program for the Promotion of a Quality Culture targeting high school students, parents, guidance counselors, and employers.
• Employer and Government Hiring Incentives Program

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Consejo Nacional de Enseñanza Superior Universitaria (CONESUP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational partnership with CONESUP, which authorizes the creation and operation of private university programs. Agreement on curriculum management and study plan coordination.
• Ministerio de Educación Pública (MEP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with MEP and CONARE on education matters. Related to quality standards and recognition of accredited program graduates.
• Red Internacional de Aseguramiento de la Calidad de Agencias de Educación Superior (INQAAHE)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal quality assurance network with over 300 active organizations. SINAES has received certification of alignment with INQAAHE good practice guidelines, valid until 2030.
• Red Iberoamericana para la Acreditación de la Calidad de la Educación Superior (RIACES)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerSINAES is a co-founding member of RIACES, which connects quality assurance agencies across Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Sistema Iberoamericano de Aseguramiento de la Calidad de la Educación Superior (SIACES)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional system for quality assurance in higher education across Ibero-American countries. SINAES has received recognition of good practices from SIACES.
• Agencia Nacional de Evaluación de la Calidad y Acreditación (ANECA) - SpaincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration agreement with Spain's national quality assurance agency for mutual learning and exchange of best practices in higher education accreditation.
• Consejo Nacional de Acreditación (CNA) - ColombiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBilateral cooperation agreement with Colombia's National Accreditation Council for exchange of experiences and methodologies in accreditation.
• Comisión Nacional de Evaluación y Acreditación Universitaria (CONEAU) - ArgentinacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgreement with Argentina's national evaluation and accreditation commission for collaborative work on quality assurance in higher education.
• Axencia para a Calidade do Sistema Universitario de Galicia (ACSUG) - SpaincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation agreement with Galicia's quality assurance agency for mutual collaboration in accreditation methodologies.
• Consejo Mexicano de Acreditación de la Educación Médica, A.C. (COMAEM)coreTechnology or IntegrationAuthorized by SINAES to accredit medical education programs in Costa Rica. Agreement CNA-061-2025. Valid from February 7, 2025 to February 7, 2029.
• Agencia de Acreditación de programas de Ingeniería y de Arquitectura (AAPIA)coreTechnology or IntegrationAuthorized by SINAES to accredit engineering programs. Agreement CNA-060-2025. Valid from February 7, 2025 to February 7, 2029.
• Colegio Federado de Licenciados y Profesores en Letras, Filosofía, Ciencias y Artes (COLYPRO)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with professional association for educators on quality assurance and professional development in humanities and arts disciplines.
• Colegio de Médicos y Cirujanos de Costa RicaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgreement with medical professionals association for collaboration on health education quality standards.
• Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partnership agreement for Central American cooperation in quality assurance and accreditation of higher education.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks2 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sinaes

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about National System of Accreditation of Higher Education