Unaccredited institutions of higher learning

Unaccredited institutions of higher education are colleges, trade schools, seminaries, and universities which do not have formal educational accreditation.

Educational institutions may not be legally required to obtain independent accreditation, depending on local laws. Academic degrees or other qualifications from such unaccredited institutions may or may not be accepted by civil service or other employers, depending on the local laws, the institution's reputation, and the industry standards.

An institution may not obtain or maintain accreditation for one of several reasons. As accreditation processes often require several years' work, a new institution may not yet have completed the initial accreditation process. A long-established institution may have lost accreditation due to financial difficulties or other factors. Other institutions (for example, some Bible colleges and seminaries) choose not to participate in the accreditation process because they view it as an infringement of their religious, academic, or political freedom.

All fraudulent diploma mills are also unaccredited schools, although they may claim accreditation from an unrecognized agency. Accreditation from such organizations, known derisively as accreditation mills, is unrecognized by any government or reputable private entity, and any courses taken or degrees received from such a school are generally considered invalid.

In Australia, it is a criminal offence to use the term "university" or to purport to offer university degrees (Bachelors, Masters, Doctors) without government authorization. This authorization is generally given in the form of an Act of a State or Federal Parliament, specifically referring to that institution. (Each state will recognize the institutions authorized under the law of the other states.)

Separate to this, there is also the authorization under the Higher Education Funding Act to receive federal government funds for students; this is a separate process from authorization to grant degrees, so some institutions are entitled to grant degrees but not to receive government funds to do so.

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