The accrediting organizations are all nonprofit corporations. Courts generally defer to any decision made by an accrediting organization, provided that:

• the organization followed its own rules.
• the act was in good faith.
• there exists a formal, internal procedure for protests of an impending act that adversely affects a party.

This legal principle was established in England in the case Dawkins v. Antrobus, 17 Ch. D. 615 (1881). There are several scholarly articles that explain the law in more detail:

• Zechariah Chafee, "The Internal Affairs of Associations Not for Profit", 43 Harvard Law Review 993 (1930).
• William A. Kaplin and J. Philip Hunter, Comment, "The Legal Status of the Educational Accrediting Agency: Problems in Judicial Supervision and Governmental Regulation," 52 Cornell Law Quarterly 104 (1966).

My essay on state action at private colleges has a section that cites cases nationwide that accrediting associations are not engaged in state action. I note that some courts have required that accrediting associations provide "common-law due process" to colleges or departments.