The mission of the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME) is to advance excellence in midwifery education. The Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (under 'Health Care') as a programmatic accrediting agency for midwifery education programs since 1982. The accreditation process is a voluntary quality assurance activity conducted by both the education institution and ACME that combines self-assessment and peer evaluation. In 1994, ACME approved criteria to accredit direct-entry midwifery education programs; the first program was pre-accredited in April 1996. The U.S. Department of Education grants the following scope of recognition to ACME: "the accreditation and pre-accreditation of basic certificate, basic graduate nurse-midwifery, direct entry midwifery, and pre-certification nurse-midwifery education programs, including those programs that offer distance education." ACME services are available to any education program that meets the eligibility requirements outlined in our Policies and Procedures Manual. ACME is administratively and financially autonomous from the American College of Nurse-Midwives.