07-21-2026, 03:01 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-21-2026, 03:43 PM by PearsonOTHMQualifi7654.)
Accreditors do not create degree-granting authority; the laws of the relevant jurisdiction (states, territories, countries, etc.) do.
Thus, when an institution is lawfully permitted to confer degrees, any accreditation it subsequently obtains from an accrediting agency primarily serves as an additional layer of external quality assurance rather than as the source of its legal degree-granting authority.
Accordingly, ASIC, ACBSP, AACSB, IACBE, ABET, ACEND, DEAC, HLC, MSCHE, NECHE, SACSCOC, WSCUC, NWCCU, ACCJC, ABA, LCME, COCA, CCNE, ACEN, ACPE, CEPH, APPA, CSWE, CACREP, ACOTE, CAPTE, ARC-PA, CCE, CODA, AVMA COE, CAEP, or ABFSE - do not legally authorize an institution to award degrees.
The legal authority to confer degrees in the United States comes from the individual states (or other applicable governmental jurisdictions, such as U.S. territories). That authority does not transfer to an accrediting agency. Accrediting agencies are private, non-governmental organizations that evaluate educational quality; they do not possess the legal authority to authorize institutions to award degrees.
When an accrediting agency is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) and/or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), institutions accredited by that agency are commonly referred to as "recognized" or "institutionally accredited" in the United States.
However, neither the USDE nor CHEA accredits institutions directly or grants them the legal authority to confer degrees.
The USDE recognizes accrediting agencies for certain federal purposes,.
CHEA independently recognizes accrediting organizations as part of the nongovernmental quality assurance system.
In some states, state law requires institutions to obtain accreditation from a U.S. Department of Education (USDE)-recognized accrediting agency as a condition of operating or continuing to award degrees.
Thus, where accreditation is legally required, it is the state or territorial law, not the accrediting agency itself, that creates that requirement
Other jurisdictions provide alternative pathways, including statutory exemptions or religious exemptions.
For example, Indiana provides exemptions for certain faith-based institutions under specified conditions
Guam exempts certain nonprofit religious institutions offering religious education or training adherents in the care of the sick according to their religious tenets.
Accreditation in the United States is a voluntary system of private quality assurance.
An institution that loses accreditation has failed to meet the standards of its accrediting agency.
Whether that institution may continue to operate or lawfully confer degrees thereafter depends on the laws and regulations of the state or territorial jurisdiction in which it is authorized.
Thus, when an institution is lawfully permitted to confer degrees, any accreditation it subsequently obtains from an accrediting agency primarily serves as an additional layer of external quality assurance rather than as the source of its legal degree-granting authority.
Accordingly, ASIC, ACBSP, AACSB, IACBE, ABET, ACEND, DEAC, HLC, MSCHE, NECHE, SACSCOC, WSCUC, NWCCU, ACCJC, ABA, LCME, COCA, CCNE, ACEN, ACPE, CEPH, APPA, CSWE, CACREP, ACOTE, CAPTE, ARC-PA, CCE, CODA, AVMA COE, CAEP, or ABFSE - do not legally authorize an institution to award degrees.
The legal authority to confer degrees in the United States comes from the individual states (or other applicable governmental jurisdictions, such as U.S. territories). That authority does not transfer to an accrediting agency. Accrediting agencies are private, non-governmental organizations that evaluate educational quality; they do not possess the legal authority to authorize institutions to award degrees.
When an accrediting agency is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) and/or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), institutions accredited by that agency are commonly referred to as "recognized" or "institutionally accredited" in the United States.
However, neither the USDE nor CHEA accredits institutions directly or grants them the legal authority to confer degrees.
The USDE recognizes accrediting agencies for certain federal purposes,.
CHEA independently recognizes accrediting organizations as part of the nongovernmental quality assurance system.
In some states, state law requires institutions to obtain accreditation from a U.S. Department of Education (USDE)-recognized accrediting agency as a condition of operating or continuing to award degrees.
Thus, where accreditation is legally required, it is the state or territorial law, not the accrediting agency itself, that creates that requirement
Other jurisdictions provide alternative pathways, including statutory exemptions or religious exemptions.
For example, Indiana provides exemptions for certain faith-based institutions under specified conditions
Guam exempts certain nonprofit religious institutions offering religious education or training adherents in the care of the sick according to their religious tenets.
Accreditation in the United States is a voluntary system of private quality assurance.
An institution that loses accreditation has failed to meet the standards of its accrediting agency.
Whether that institution may continue to operate or lawfully confer degrees thereafter depends on the laws and regulations of the state or territorial jurisdiction in which it is authorized.
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