In order to be valid for public or licensed employment in Oregon, a degree must be earned at one of the following:
- An institution accredited by an U.S. accreditor recognized as such by the U.S. Department of Education. Licensure by another state (except for the New York Board of Regents) does not by itself meet this standard.
- A foreign institution having the foreign equivalent of U.S.-approved accreditation as determined by ODA.
- A U.S. institution approved by ODA subsequent to evaluation.
Because of the proliferation not only of substandard colleges but of questionable accrediting bodies, ODA is providing this list of well-known unapproved “accreditors” as a public service. This is not a comprehensive list of unapproved “accreditors,” but simply a list of some that have come to ODA’s attention.
These bodies are not approved by the U.S. Department of Education and therefore any so-called “accreditation” by these bodies is meaningless in Oregon and in some other states. “Accreditation” of an institution by any of these entities does not meet legal requirements for use in Oregon of a degree earned at such an institution.