Use this page to verify ACISC accreditation and confirm whether an educational institution currently holds ACISC accreditation.

Verification is important before relying on an institution’s accreditation claim for education, university admission, qualification evaluation, employment, professional purposes, or other decisions.

ACISC encourages students, parents, universities, colleges, education professionals, employers, institutions, and other stakeholders to check current official information rather than relying solely on an institution’s website, certificate, logo, advertisement, or third-party listing.

How to Verify ACISC Accreditation

To verify an institution, search the official ACISC institutional records using the institution’s current official name or other available identifying information.

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If the search system returns an institution, carefully review the available accreditation information rather than relying only on the institution name.

Check the Institution’s Current Status

When reviewing an accreditation record, look for the institution’s current status and confirm that the information applies to the institution you are researching.

Where available, review:

  • Official institutional name
  • Location
  • Institution type
  • Current accreditation status
  • Accreditation scope
  • Applicable campus or branch
  • Effective date
  • Accreditation period
  • Accreditation action
  • Conditions or limitations, where applicable
  • Other relevant institutional notes

The information available for an individual institution depends on the current ACISC record and applicable transparency procedures.

Why Current Verification Matters

Accreditation status can change. An institution may have been accredited previously but may not hold the same status today.

For this reason, historical information, archived webpages, certificates, promotional materials, and third-party directories should not be treated as substitutes for current official verification.

If accreditation status is important to your decision, verify the institution as close as reasonably possible to the time the information is needed.

ACISC Accreditation Status

An institution should be described as ACISC accredited only when ACISC has formally granted accreditation under the applicable accreditation framework and the accreditation applies to the institution and scope being considered.

Accreditation is an independent quality-assurance status resulting from an applicable process of standards review, institutional evidence, evaluation, review, and formal decision-making.

Verification confirms the institutional status recorded by ACISC. It does not create accreditation or replace the formal accreditation decision.

Membership Is Not Accreditation

One of the most important points when reviewing an institutional record is the distinction between membership and accreditation.

An institution may be an ACISC member without being accredited by ACISC.

Membership is a separate institutional relationship subject to applicable membership requirements.

Membership ≠ Accreditation.

If you are looking for membership information rather than accreditation, visit the ACISC Membership Directory.

Eligibility Is Not Accreditation

An institution may also be eligible to enter the ACISC accreditation process without being accredited.

Eligibility is an initial assessment of whether an institution meets applicable requirements to proceed. It does not constitute accreditation and does not guarantee a particular accreditation outcome.

Eligibility ≠ Accreditation.

Application Status Is Not Accreditation

An institution that has submitted an accreditation application is participating in an accreditation process. Submission of an application does not mean that accreditation has been granted.

Likewise, participation in an evaluation, completion of a self-study, or preparation for an evaluation visit should not be represented as accreditation.

Application ≠ Accreditation.

Understand Accreditation Scope

Verification should include consideration of accreditation scope.

An educational institution may operate more than one campus, branch, learning site, program, or educational activity. Accreditation should not automatically be assumed to cover every location, program, or activity unless the applicable accreditation record establishes that scope.

Review the ACISC Accreditation Status & Scope resource when scope is important to your decision.

Verify the Institution, Not Just the Name

Institution names can be similar, and institutions may operate under different legal, trading, campus, or organizational names.

When possible, compare the official institutional name, location, campus information, and other identifying details in the ACISC record with the information provided by the institution.

If the information does not appear to match, do not assume that the accreditation record belongs to the institution you are considering.

For Students and Parents

Students and parents should verify accreditation before making important educational decisions, particularly when accreditation may be relevant to future study, qualification recognition, professional requirements, or another planned use of the qualification.

Verification should be combined with research into the institution’s programs, qualifications, costs, academic requirements, student support, legal status, location, and other factors relevant to the student’s goals.

ACISC accreditation does not by itself guarantee university admission, transfer of academic credit, employment, professional licensing, immigration eligibility, or recognition of a qualification by every authority or organization.

See ACISC Guidance for Students & Parents for additional information.

For Universities and Colleges

Universities and colleges may use accreditation information when evaluating applicants, qualifications, transfer-credit requests, partnerships, or other academic matters.

Each receiving institution remains responsible for applying its own admission, transfer, qualification, and academic policies.

Verification of ACISC accreditation does not require another institution to admit a student or accept academic credit.

For Employers and Professional Organizations

Employers and professional organizations may establish their own requirements for educational qualifications.

ACISC accreditation should not automatically be interpreted as professional licensing, employment eligibility, or professional recognition.

Where a profession or occupation is regulated, applicants should confirm requirements directly with the relevant authority or professional organization.

Accreditation and Government Recognition

ACISC accreditation and governmental recognition are separate matters.

ACISC is an independent, non-governmental international accrediting organization. ACISC does not replace or supersede the legal, licensing, registration, authorization, or regulatory functions of governmental or statutory authorities.

An ACISC accreditation record should therefore not be interpreted as governmental authorization or as a guarantee of recognition by a particular government authority.

Recognition requirements may vary according to the country, jurisdiction, qualification, institution, profession, and intended use.

Learn more about ACISC Recognition.

What Accreditation Verification Does Not Confirm

Verifying ACISC accreditation confirms the accreditation information recorded by ACISC. It does not automatically confirm every other characteristic or claim made by an institution.

For example, accreditation verification does not by itself establish:

  • Government recognition or authorization
  • Professional licensing
  • University admission eligibility
  • Transfer-credit acceptance
  • Recognition of a qualification in every country
  • Employment eligibility
  • Immigration eligibility
  • Approval of every institutional program or activity

Those matters may be determined by separate institutions, governments, regulators, professional bodies, employers, or other competent organizations.

When an Institution Cannot Be Found

If you cannot find an institution in the official ACISC accreditation records, do not assume that it is accredited.

Check the institution’s official name and location and consider whether you may be searching for a branch, campus, former name, or related entity.

If the institution continues to be difficult to identify, contact ACISC for clarification before relying on an accreditation claim.

Contact ACISC

When an Institution Claims Accreditation That Cannot Be Verified

If an institution publicly claims ACISC accreditation but its current status cannot be verified through official ACISC records, exercise caution before relying on that claim.

You may contact ACISC with the institution’s name, location, website, and the accreditation claim being made.

Where appropriate, concerns about an institution may also fall within ACISC’s applicable complaints and accountability procedures.

ACISC Complaints & Accountability

Institutional Responsibility

Institutions are responsible for accurately representing their relationship with ACISC.

An institution should not present membership, eligibility, an application, evaluation participation, or another ACISC relationship as accreditation when accreditation has not been formally granted.

Institutions should also accurately represent the scope and status of any accreditation granted.

Changes to Accreditation Status

Institutional accreditation information may change as a result of formal accreditation actions, changes in institutional circumstances, review activity, expiration, renewal, conditions, or other applicable procedures.

For this reason, users should rely on current official records when making decisions that depend on accreditation status.

Transparency and Verification

Verification is an important part of ACISC’s commitment to transparency and accountability.

Clear institutional information allows stakeholders to distinguish accreditation from membership, eligibility, application status, recognition, licensing, and governmental authorization.

ACISC’s transparency approach is intended to help stakeholders understand the basis and scope of institutional accreditation information while respecting applicable confidentiality and data-protection responsibilities.

Learn About ACISC Transparency

Independent Quality Assurance

ACISC accreditation is intended to provide an independent framework for evaluating educational institutions against applicable standards and encouraging continuous improvement.

Verification is one part of that framework. It allows stakeholders to confirm the institutional status recorded by ACISC rather than relying solely on external claims.

For Education Professionals

Counsellors, education consultants, admissions professionals, researchers, agents, and other education professionals should use current ACISC records when communicating about institutional accreditation.

Professional communications should clearly distinguish accreditation from membership, eligibility, application status, recognition, licensing, and governmental authorization.

For Institutions Seeking Accreditation

Institutions considering ACISC accreditation should understand that an application, eligibility determination, self-study, evaluation visit, or other preparatory activity does not establish accredited status.

The accreditation relationship is established only through the applicable ACISC evaluation and formal decision-making process.

Apply for ACISC Accreditation

Related ACISC Resources

Verify ACISC Accreditation Before Relying on an Accreditation Claim

Verify ACISC accreditation through current official ACISC records before relying on an institution’s accreditation claim.

Check the institution’s current status, scope, effective information, and any applicable conditions. Where recognition, licensing, admission, professional practice, or qualification requirements are important, confirm those requirements separately with the relevant authority or organization.

ACISC’s role is to provide an independent accreditation framework and transparent information about institutional accreditation within its defined responsibilities.