Accreditation is a critical tool for quality assurance and accountability for higher education, signaling an institution's commitment to academic quality and fiscal integrity. The Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) published this statement to help board members better understand the importance of accreditation and the board's role in the process. AGB and CHEA published an initial statement in 2009. Since then, however, the higher education landscape has significantly changed, and the need to reemphasize board involvement has become evident. The updated statement offers leading practices to foster effective governance strategies as board members, chief executives, and other staff work collaboratively with accrediting organizations. It highlights many suggestions for boards and their members, such as: (1) Establish an ongoing orientation or accreditation education program for board members, with particular attention to the way in which accreditation relates to such core values as mission, institutional independence, educational quality, and academic freedom; (2) Develop, in collaboration with the chief executive officer, a plan for ongoing governing board involvement in accreditation reviews; and (3) Create clear expectations of board leaders to work with the president on the accreditation process, including opportunities to meet with the visiting team, and an expectation that the visiting team's final report will be available to the full board.