Yes — Excelsior University is regionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), one of the recognized regional accreditors, covering its degrees. Middle States accreditation is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, so an Excelsior degree carries regional accreditation and the broad credit-transfer recognition that comes with it. Separately, Excelsior has long specialized in credit-by-exam and prior-learning credit, pathways backed by American Council on Education (ACE) credit recommendations.
The Middle States regional accreditation
Excelsior holds institutional accreditation from MSCHE, a regional accreditor recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Regional accreditation is the most widely recognized category in U.S. higher education, which is what gives an Excelsior degree its standing and generally supports transferring its credits to other regionally accredited schools.
What regional accreditation means for you
Because Excelsior is regionally accredited, its credits and degrees are generally recognized the way other regionally accredited institutions' are, including for most transfer and further study. As always, a specific transfer depends on the receiving school's policy, but regional accreditation avoids the friction that national-only accreditation can create.
The credit-by-exam and prior-learning heritage
Excelsior is known for letting students earn credit by examination and for prior learning, historically through its own exams and now through options like CLEP and DSST. Many of these are backed by American Council on Education credit recommendations, which is a separate stamp from institutional accreditation but part of why Excelsior credits are widely portable.
How to verify it yourself
Confirm Excelsior's standing directly on the Middle States website and Excelsior's own pages, both linked in the sources below. Verifying an accreditor claim yourself is a good habit for any online university, and it takes only a minute.
Sources and verification
Facts on this page come from official sources; confirm current details with Excelsior:
- www.excelsior.edu: Excelsior University's official site
- www.msche.org: the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, Excelsior's regional accreditor
- www.acenet.edu: the American Council on Education, which recommends credit for many exams
- apastyle.apa.org: APA Style, the standard for written work