The American Institute for Paralegal Studies, Inc. has been continuously accredited since 1981. To be a recognized accrediting body, an agency must go through a separate review process by the Office of Postsecondary Education, a section of the U.S. Department of Education.
Recognition is granted for a maximum period of five years.
You may be familiar with the regional accrediting bodies which accredit colleges and universities. The regional and national accrediting bodies go through the identical recognition process with the federal government. In the USA, accreditation holds a prominent position within the range of resources available to students, employers, government and the general public in identifying quality education and training programs and providers. Accreditation serves to both evaluate and improve the quality of such programs through the establishment and publication of definitive standards, along with a reliable process for their application in evaluating institutions which voluntarily apply to seek accredited status. In addition to the oversight of these processes by the Department of Education, more and more agencies are looking at international affiliations to diversify and strengthen their roles, in at least one agency's case by achieving ISO 9001 certification.