Though the U.S. Department of Education does not directly accredit any online school or traditional academic institution, it does have a significant role in postsecondary education accreditation. The U.S. Secretary of Education is responsible for putting together a list of accrediting agencies that it deems capable of granting accreditation to various colleges and universities, including online schools. The department’s website lists several regional and national accrediting organizations that have been approved by the government, directing prospective students to websites and databases that help them verify their school’s accreditation status. Students who want to conduct a preliminary search or a search directly from the U.S. Department of Education website can visit this database that can search a school’s accreditation by institutional accrediting agencies or specialized/programmatic accrediting agencies.

The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education evaluates regional, national, state-level, and specialized accrediting agencies on the basis of that agency’s ability to prove that a postsecondary institution is eligible to participate in federal and Higher Education Act programs. Accrediting agencies must also be capable of managing the administrative duties of the entire geographic area that it claims to cover. For example, a state-level accrediting agency must be able to review all institutions located in that state. The Secretary also makes sure that accrediting agencies that are applying for official approval from the U.S. Department of Education have some experience accrediting institutions or programs in their field or geographic location. Finally, the Secretary evaluates whether or not the standards set by the accrediting agency are widely accepted and acknowledged by higher education faculty and administrators, licensing organizations, professional employers, practitioners and other groups or individuals that are expected to work with students graduating from those institutions or programs.