Fake Accreditation Agencies. WARNING – do not reach for your credit card until you read this. That degree mill claims accreditation but that agency can be worthless.

(EMAILWIRE.COM, December 17, 2009 ) Washington DC, If you search the Internet you will find degrees for sale that claim accreditation. Can you really buy an accredited degree?

When a college or university claims accreditation what does that mean? Nothing if the accreditation is not recognized by the Department or Minister of Education in their own country.

Just as there are degree mills there are accreditation mills. These are so-called organizations (generally little more than a name and website) that are usually set up by a degree mill that “accredits” anyone and any school that pays the fee. Any program, college, or university that has accreditation by an accreditation mill is worthless. You might as well get a piece of paper and print a diploma.

In the US an accrediting agency needs to be recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or the Council on Higher Education Accreditation. In other countries the university is generally recognized directly by the office of the Minister of Education and/or by UNESCO. This is referred to as GAAP – the Generally Accepted Accrediting Practices. The university or college that you receive your degree from must meet GAAP.

The following are known agencies that do NOT meet GAAP. That means that any college or university claiming recognition or membership in these agencies is NOT legitimately accredited and getting and using a degree from a university like that will be like sitting on time bomb for you. For the most part these agencies have no physical offices and like the online college degree mills are just mailbox addresses and website. They offer fake accreditation just as the university members offer fake degrees. While not every member of a fake organization is a degree mill, they should no better and it should be a red flag for you.

New accrediting mills, like degree mills, pop up all the time so no list can be up to date. The simple rule is to check and see if the accrediting body has recognition from the Department or Minister of Education. In some cases they are legitimate attempts to create accrediting agencies working on getting government recognition. According to Sheila Danzig, founder of www.Degree.com, the Premier Online Degree portal, you are better to wait until a new accreditor gets the recognition they are seeking.

Accreditation Association of Ametrican College and Universities Unrecognized agency.
Accrediting Commission for Specialized Colleges Gas City, Indiana.
Accrediting Commission International for Schools, Colleges and Theological Seminaries Beebe, Arkansas.
Akademie fuer Internationale Kultur und Wissenschaftsfoerderung See Association for Promotion of International Cultural and Scientific Exchange, below.
Alternative Institution Accrediting Association Allegedly in Washington, DC, and the accreditee of several phony schools.
American Association of Accredited Colleges and Universities. Another unloadable agency, the claimed accreditee of Ben Franklin Academy.
American Association of Independent Collegiate Schools of Business unloadable accreditee mentioned by Rushmore University.
American Association of Nontraditional Collegiate Business Schools Another plausible-sounding but unloadable accreditee mentioned by Rushmore University.
American Education Association for the Accreditation of Schools, Colleges and Universities The accreditor claimed at one time by the University of America. Could not be located.
American Psycotherapy Association Board of Psycotherapy Examiners, Katy, Texas, originally chartered in Florida, they say, while apologizing for but not correcting the misspellings.
Arizona Commission of Non-Traditional Private Postsecondary Education.
Association for Promotion of International Cultural and Scientific Exchange (APICS).
Association of Accredited Private Schools.
Association of Career Training Schools.
Commission for the Accreditation of European Non-Traditional Universities The University de la Romande, in England.
Council for the Accreditation of Correspondence Colleges.
Council on Postsecondary Alternative Accreditation.
Council on Postsecondary Christian Education Established by the people who operated LaSalle University and Kent College in Louisiana.
Distance Education Council of America.
International Accreditation Commission for Post Secondary Education Institutions.
International Accreditation Association.
International Accrediting Association.
International Accrediting Commission for Postsecondary Educational Institutions.
International Accrediting Commission for Schools, Colleges and Theological Seminaries Holden, Missouri.
International Association of Non-Traditional Schools.
International Commission for Excellence in Higher Education, Inc.
Middle States Accrediting Board.
National Accreditation Association.
National Council for the Accreditation of Private Universities and Schools of Law Unrecognized agency from which Monticello University has claimed accreditation
National Council of Schools and Colleges Accreditation.
West European Accrediting Society.
Western Association of Private Alternative Schools.
Western Council on Non-Traditional Private Post Secondary Education.
World Association of Universities and Colleges.
Worldwide Accrediting Commission.
When in doubt – check it out.