In the fall of 2004, following a series of conversations with the accreditation community on the topic of providing additional information to the public, the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) contracted with the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) to conduct a survey of accrediting organizations on this matter. The purpose of this survey was to identify practices used by accrediting organizations to inform the public about what they do: How these organizations operate, their decision-making practices and the results of their scrutiny of higher education institutions and programs. A questionnaire was developed by NCHEMS in consultation with CHEA staff to address information to the public about five main topics: (1) the accreditation process and how it works; (2) activities undertaken by accrediting organizations (e.g. numbers of visits, types of actions, etc.); (3) characteristics of accredited institutions and programs; (4) results of individual reviews beyond accredited status; and (5) institutional and program performance and student academic achievement. At the November 2004 meeting, a sixth topic arose, and it was also included in the survey: The role that public members of decision-making commissions have in the accrediting process. In addition to asking about current practices in each of these areas, the survey also asked respondents to provide examples and to describe future plans. The target population for the survey were the 81 CHEA- or United States Department of Education (USDE)-recognized accrediting organizations. Results of the survey were compiled by NCHEMS, with statistical responses broken down by the three major types of accreditation organizations. Results are reported by main topic in the sections provided herein. Two appendices present: (1) Survey Questionnaire; and (2) Survey Participants. (Contains 5 footnotes and 3 charts.) [This report was produced by CHEA (Council for Higher Education Accreditation) Institute for Research and Study of Accreditation and Quality Assurance.]