Accreditation Is Not Nearly as Expensive as Widely Thought, Study Finds

By Eric Kelderman

Debate over the cost and value of accreditation has been studded with stark anecdotes of million-dollar price tags for the process, which is required for colleges to receive federal student aid. But a new study concludes that the dollar cost is less than half that amount, on average, and varies widely for different kinds of institutions.

The study is a doctoral dissertation by Paul Woolston Jr., director of admissions at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of