Be Wary of Nonrecognized Accreditation Agencies
Stephen Barrett, M.D.
Accreditation constitutes public recognition that an educational program meets the administrative, organizational, and financial criteria of a recognized agency. In the United States, educational standards for schools are set by a network of agencies approved by the U.S. Office of Education (USOE) or the Council on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation (CORPA). USOE or CORPA do not accredit individual schools, but they approve the national and regional agencies that do so. Almost all such agencies are voluntary and nongovernmental.
In addition to nonaccredited schools, there are also nonrecognized agencies. The following entities are not approved by the U.S. Department of Education. Therefore any so-called “accreditation” by these entities should be considered meaningless:
- Accrediting Commission International—based in Arkansas
- Accreditation Governing Commission of the United States of America
- American Association of Drugless Practitioners Commission on Accreditation
- American Association of International Medical Graduates
- American Council of Private Colleges and Universities
- American Naturopathic Medical Certification and Accreditation Board (ANMCAB)
- Association for Distance Learning (ADLP)
- Association for Online Academic Excellence—possibly based in Wales
- Association of Christian Colleges and Theological Schools—based in Virginia
- Board of Online Universities Accreditation
- Central States Council on Distance Education—4401 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 205, Washington DC 20001
- Commission on Medical Denturitry Accreditation (COMDA)
- Council for International Education Accreditation (CIEA)
- Council on Medical Denturitry Education (COMDE)
- Distance Graduation Accrediting Association
- Distance Learning Council of Europe
- European Council for Distance & Open Learning
- Examining Board of Natural Medicine Practitioners
- Higher Education Accreditation Commission
- Higher Education Services Association
- Inter-Collegiate Joint Committee on Academic Standards
- International Accreditation Agency for Online Universities (IAAOU)
- International Accreditation Association
- International Accreditation for Universities, Colleges and Institutes
- International Accrediting Association for Colleges and Universities
- International Association of Universities and Schools
- International Commission for Higher Education
- International Commission of Open Post Secondary Education
- International Council for Open and Distance Education
- International University Accrediting Association—based in California
- National Academy of Higher Education (NAHE)
- National Commission on Higher Education
- National Distance Learning Accreditation Council
- Non-Traditional Course Accreditation Body
- Southern Accrediting Association of Bible Institutes and Colleges
- United Congress of Colleges—Ireland, UK
- US-DETC—Nevada (not to be confused with the legitimate DETC, based in Washington DC.)
- Universal Council for Online Education Accreditation (UCOEA)
- Virtual University Accrediting Association—based in California
- World Association of Universities and Colleges—based in Nevada
- World Online Education Accrediting Commission
- World-wide Accreditation Commission of Christian Educational Institutions
This page was posted on August 5, 2005.