<p>It is one of the regional accreditation boards that has authority to do that. The colleges are broken out by region (west, middle, south, etc) and there is an accrediting authority by region. If you go outside the west the accrediting authority will be a different one. It is one way to make sure the school is not a sham. [College</a> Accreditation in the United States-- Pg 7](<a href=“http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/accreditation_pg7.html]College”>College Accreditation in the United States-- Pg 7 | U.S. Department of Education)</p>