The paper analizes the role of National Accreditation Agencies (ANAs), which are the organs responsible for carrying out the accreditation of courses in the Regional Courses Accreditation System (ARCU-SUL) do Mercosul Educativo. The ARCU-SUL was created in 2008 as a permanent system after a previous experience with the Courses Acreditation Experimental Mecanism in 2004- 2006, which had acreditated medical engineering and agronomy courses. The text presents partial research results based on documentary analysis and interviews. It points out the characteristics of the acreditation agencies of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay and analizes them according to four criteria: creation; autonomy; nature; structure as ANA and compatibility within the Network of National Agencies for Accreditation. We conclude that the ARCU-SUL is not fully implemented yet, because it has no accredited courses in all the four countries and that it is not only linked with greater or lesser experience of higher education assessment in each country.
Higher Education Acreditation; National Agency for Accreditation; ARCU-SUR System; Mercosur educativo