What are the steps to obtain CHEA accreditation?

[Merlin]

Cecil - "WGU actually only has the licence and its website and it is a "registered" university."

Me -  WGU (Western Governors' University) has a LOT more than that. It is Regionally Accredited as shown below. This is the highest form of accreditation. Ergo, it has been found by its accreditor to have the financial resources, equipment, premises, teachers/professors and curriculum  etc. it needs to be a fine, established distance university, which awards meaningful degrees. It is no amateur, startup or shoestring operation as you imply.  It has had a good reputation for a lot of years. As we've established - all that costs money - real money - lots of it. Start talking to your investors...

Not only that, but WGU has been around for more than 23 years. They started out with a $2 million budget in 1997 as a nationally accredited college but eventually earned regional accreditation in 2003. In fact, WGU is also the only college out there that has been awarded regional accreditation from four different regional accreditation bodies. They currently have a student body of more than 120,000 students which makes them one of the largest colleges in the United States.

So, if you want a school to model, you might want to look at University of the People, rather than WGU. Unless you have investors who are willing to shell out a billion dollars or so.