What is Accreditation?

Is Your School Accredited?

One of the most frequently asked questions we receive at Genesis School of Natural Health is on the subject of accreditation. Understanding what accreditation means is important when looking at non-traditional schools.

General Definition: Accreditation constitutes public recognition that an educational program meets the administrative, organizational, and financial criteria of a recognized agency.

Recognized agency?

In the United States, educational standards for schools are set by a network of agencies approved by the U.S. Office of Education (USOE) or the Council on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation (CORPA). USOE or CORPA do not accredit individual schools, but they approve the national and regional agencies that do so. Almost all such agencies are voluntary and nongovernmental.

Government Accreditation is not the same as Professional Accreditation that is stated by the majority of online natural health schools.

Professional Accreditations that are NOT recognized by the US Secretary of Education include (there are more): 

• American Association of Drugless Practitioners (AADP)
• Hygienic Doctors Association (HDA)
• American Naturopathic Medical Accreditation Board (ANMAB) 
• American Naturopathic Certification Board (ANCB)
• International College of Holistic Medicine (ICHM)
• American Council for Holistic Medicine (ACHM)​
• International Association of Natural Health Practitioners(IANHP)
• National Association for Nutrition Professionals (NANP)

 

Key Points

• Accreditation for Natural Health programs in the United States is an entirely voluntary process.
• Non-traditional schools apply and pay for Professional accreditation.
• Professional accreditation, in most cases, involves someone or a group that reviews the curriculum and standards the school has established.
• Diplomas and “Degrees” from Trinity School, Natural Healing College, New Eden School, The University of Natural Medicine, and American School of Natural Health (as well as the many not listed) are not Government Accredited schools. They are Professionally Accredited.
• Genesis School of Natural Health: We will be seeking 1-2 Professional Accreditations partly because it is misunderstood and we don’t want to miss the opportunity to teach and train a student because they were not aware of the terminology. We also want to support their important mission of helping all natural health professionals and their clients keep their health freedoms!