Northwest Association of Accredited Schools

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The Northwest Association of Accredited Schools is an association based in Boise, Idaho which accredits a variety of schools, including K-12, elementary, middle, and high schools; schools offering distance education; post-secondary non-degree-granting institutions; and special purpose, supplementary education, travel education, and trans-regional schools.

The association identifies its geographic territory as Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington, as well as "other geographical areas designated from time to time by the Board of Trustees." The association has accredited schools in other states such as Florida, Iowa, Mississippi, and New York and outside the United States in countries including Costa Rica, Egypt, Kosovo, Macedonia, Saudi Arabia, and Spain.

The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities is the recognized regional accreditation agency for post-secondary institutions in the seven-state region served by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools. As a result of this division of responsibilities, neither the United States Department of Education nor the Council for Higher Education Accreditation recognizes the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools as an accrediting agency for institutions of higher education.

The Association traces its history to 1917 when the Northwest Association of Secondary and Higher Schools was formed. In 1974 the association changed its name to the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges. In 2000 it became the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges and Universities, which disbanded and split into two separate organizations in 2004, with the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools handling the accreditation of schools and the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities handling the accreditation of institutions of higher education.^[1]

In 2005 the Association attracted controversy when it was found to have accredited a school in New York that was found to be issuing high school diplomas without the necessary state authorizations.^[2] Association officials told the press that it had accredited this school, Academy at Ivy Ridge, and other schools located outside its primary service region because they were operated by the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools, which is based inside the region, in Utah.^[3]