Law

• June 20, 2011

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.