Academic accreditation

Academic accreditation is a quality assurance system for universities, colleges, and occasionally secondary schools. It certifies that an organisation has the credentials to give people credentials.

Accreditation is a third-party process that costs tens of thousands of dollars and takes many years. Accreditation regulations vary from country to country but involves on-site visits and faculty evaluations. In the United States education system, in order to certify accreditation, an accrediting body must be recognized by the U.S Department of Education.

Types of accreditation
Educational institutions may be accredited on an national or a regional basis. In regional accreditation the standards are rigorous and expensive.Typically, regionally-accredited schools are quality institutions. National accreditation has lower standards and the process is generally less expensive, given that nationally accredited degree programs rarely transfer to regionally-accredited schools. There is also professional accreditation which accredits professional programs such as medical programs, law schools, engineering schools, teacher education programs and ministerial programs.

In the United States, museums can also be accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. Accreditation is rarer among museums (only about 10% nationwide ) than among other colleges and universities because the benefits to the museum are not as great. Colleges and universities need to attract students, student loans from the Department of Education, professors and grant money for research; being accredited is an important way to show that the institute as a whole meets a basic level of worthiness. Museums often do need to attract grant money, but they are not overseen by the Department of Education.

National accreditation groups

 * Accrediting Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET), accredits engineering programs
 * Association of Theological Schools, accredits Christian colleges and seminaries such as Starr King School for the Ministry and Berkeley Divinity School
 * Distance Education Accrediting Commission, provides accreditation for online colleges such as Penn Foster College and Ashworth College

Dubious but recognized

 * Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS), a national accreditation organization for creationist schools including Bob Jones University and Pensacola Christian College

Regional accrediting groups

 * Council of Higher Education Accreditation
 * Higher Learning Commission
 * Mid-Atlantic Region Commission on Higher Education, a.k.a. the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (mid-Atlantic United States)
 * North-Central Association of Colleges and Schools, midwestern United States
 * Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, northwestern United States
 * Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, southern United States
 * Western Association of Colleges and Schools, western United States

Professional accrediting groups
Professional accreditation is a type of national accreditation that accredits degrees of a professional nature, such as medical and law degrees.


 * American Bar Association, accredits law schools (Harvard Law School)
 * Association of Medical Colleges, accredits medical schools (Yale Medical School, University of Michigan Medical School)
 * Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation, accredits Osteopathic medical schools (Michigan State University Osteopathic Medical College)
 * Council on Naturopathic Medical Education, accredits Naturopathic medical colleges (Bastyr University)

Former groups

 * Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS), an accreditation agency that accredited substandard schools such as ITT Tech. Lost its official status as a national accreditation board in 2021 after an investigation revealed that it accredited a fake college.

Accreditation mills
Accreditation mills are accreditation authorities that are not themselves accredited. Often, such organizations have little or no standards and will issue accreditation to any applicant for a one time fee. In some cases diploma mills attempt to add an air of legitimacy by operating their own accreditation organization and obtaining self-accreditation. Examples include:


 * Accrediting Commission International, also known as the International Accrediting Organization, an accreditation mill associated with Patriot Bible University.
 * American Accrediting Association of Theological Institutions (AAATI)
 * American Association for Higher Education and Accreditation
 * Association of Accredited Bible Schools
 * Association of Independent Christian Colleges and Seminaries (AICCS)
 * Distance and Online Universities Accreditation Council (DOUAC)
 * International Higher Learning Commission
 * National Association of Private Theological Institutions
 * National Bible College Association
 * National Private Schools Accreditation Alliance (NPSAA), claimed by known diploma mills, e.g. Hindu University of America, as an accreditation authority

Like diploma mills, accreditation mills damage the reputation of distance learning and facilitate con artistry.

Religious exemption
Religious colleges sometimes operate under a "religious exemption" whereby they are not required to obtain accreditation. 28 states, including Florida, California, and Maine have some form of religious exemption. The religious exemption is often used by schools and seminaries that focus on more obscure religions. Examples of institutions operating under a religious exemption include:


 * Andersonville Theological Seminary, a Georgia seminary
 * Cherry Hill Seminary, a Pagan seminary
 * College of Metaphysical Studies, a New Thought institution that teaches homeopathy
 * International Institute for Holistic Arts and Sciences (IIHAS), "a pioneer in Metaphysical, Spiritual, New Age, Holistic and Neo-Pagan education"
 * University of Sedona, self described as "the world's largest metaphysical university system
 * Woolston-Steen Theological Seminary, a Wiccan seminary

The religious exemption is often abused by diploma mills such as Patriot Bible University.