Private School Accreditation FAQs

DNPE suggests that chief administrators contact the admissions office at colleges/universities where the home school graduate would like to seek admission and inquire about admission requirements.

Conventional North Carolina non-public schools may choose to earn accreditation from an accreditation agency.  Anyone interested in learning about the accreditation of an NC private school, should contact the school(s) directly.  
 

No. Like most states, North Carolina has no state laws mandating that non-public schools be accredited by an accrediting organization. 

The State of North Carolina, however, requires certain minimum standards that all non-public schools must meet.  As long as those standards are met, the school is satisfying compulsory attendance requirements and is authorized to issue high school diplomas to its graduates. 

Accreditation can only be obtained through private accrediting organizations such as the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools, the Southern Association of Independent Schools, the North Carolina Christian School Association, etc.  
 

Graduate acceptance at a wider array of colleges and universities is much more likely, provided the student's college entrance test results are adequate. 

An accredited school may be more successful in obtaining corporate funding for the school.
 

The meaning of the term "accreditation," as it relates to private elementary and secondary schools, varies somewhat from state to state.

In North Carolina, it involves the school voluntarily joining a school accrediting association and electing to undergo a periodic comprehensive peer review of the school's policies, practices and programs by a team of visiting professional educators.

The school's staff and the visiting professionals evaluate the purposes, goals, procedures, standards, etc. of the school's entire program. 

There are financial costs involved in association membership and in the accreditation process itself.
 

The financial cost and staff time involved are major reasons. It will usually cause the non-public school to pass the financial cost of it on to the school parents.

Many religious schools often cite theological autonomy as the reason. Such schools are sensitive to outside-of-the-school professional educators evaluating the school's religious curriculum, philosophy and practices. 

Other schools do not seek it simply because there is no demand from the school clientele for it.