The Accrediting Commission is recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education to accredit distance education institutions. The Commission is listed (and has been since 1959) by the U.S. Department of Education as a "nationally recognized accrediting agency." Like regional accrediting agencies, the Accrediting Commission is reviewed periodically by the USDE to make certain that it meets the criteria for federal recognition as published in Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

The Accrediting Commission is a charter member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), the leading non-governmental recognition for accrediting associations. The Commission’s recognition by CHEA was renewed in 2001 for ten years. A national advocate and institutional voice for self-regulation of academic quality through accreditation, CHEA is an association of 3,000 degree-granting colleges and universities and recognizes 60 institutional and programmatic accrediting organizations.