An educational institution can be either a for-profit company (like University of Phoenix or Pima Medical Institute) or nonprofit (like the University of California or Cogswell Polytechnic College). For-profit companies can can be both authorized and accredited as educational institutions–that’s not a determining factor.

Every state is going to have different procedures and requirements for authorizing educational institutions. For example, in Washington, the Higher Education Coordinating Board authorizes degree-granting colleges; Washington schools that offer non-degree vocational training may be authorized by either the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board, the Department of Licensing, or a couple of other agencies, depending on the content of the program. Some states have higher standards than others. According to the State of Oregon’s Office of Degree Authorization, “Idaho, Hawaii, Montana, Alabama, Wyoming, Mississippi and California have either no meaningful standards, excessive loopholes or poor enforcement owing to local policy or insufficient staff. Degrees issued by unaccredited private colleges in Alabama, Idaho, Mississippi or Wyoming should be evaluated with great caution. In particular, Mississippi has no oversight standards.” So if someone wants to start a diploma mill, they should move to Mississippi!