NAACLS is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, and, as such, is committed to quality in education and educational review. Institutions or accrediting bodies that do not undergo such rigorous review are often termed "degree mills" or "accreditation mills", and the certificates and degrees offered may be of dubious quality or even bogus. As the CHEA website states, "Degree mills and accreditation mills mislead and harm. In the United States, degrees and certificates from mills may not be acknowledged by other institutions when students seek to transfer or go to graduate school. Employers may not acknowledge degrees and certificates from degree mills when providing tuition assistance for continuing education. 'Accreditation' from an accreditation mill can mislead students and the public about the quality of an institution. In the presence of degree mills and accreditation mills, students may spend a good deal of money and receive neither an education nor a useable credential."

To verify that a program is NAACLS Accredited/Approved, please go to our Find a Program page.

For more information on degree mills or accreditation mills, please refer to the following websites:

chea.org/degreemills

www2.ed.gov/students/prep/college/diplomamills/diploma-mills.html