Accreditation and State Authorization
Kansas City University is a private university accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and recognized by the Coordinating Board of Higher Education for the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development.
Kansas City University's College of Osteopathic Medicine is accredited by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) at the American Osteopathic Association (AOA).
The AOA is the official accrediting agency for osteopathic medicine approved by the United States Department of Education and by the Council of Higher Education Accreditation.
The College of Dental Medicine’s program in predoctoral dental education is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation and has been granted the accreditation status of "initial accreditation."
Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological AssociationKCU is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The KCU PsyD program is accredited on contingency by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association through April 11, 2026. A program that is accredited on contingency is an APA-accredited program. The program submitted for full accreditation in May of 2024. Anyone who wishes to file a complaint can reach out using the contact information listed. Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation |
The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (HLC-NCA), the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) and the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) provide individuals the opportunity to utilize their accreditation organizations to receive specific grievances, as well as providing a mechanism for reviewing and resolving complaints. Students may file complaints with HLC-NCA, COCA, CODA, or the APA, and may do so confidentially when permitted by the accreditation organization. Contact information for each agency can be found at the applicable links above.
Student Complaints to State or Accreditor
Students have the following options to file state- or accreditor-level complaints against KCU.
- Complaints regarding institutional non-compliance with specific eligibility requirements, standards for accreditation, or policies of KCU's institutional accreditor, the Higher Learning Commission, may be filed with the commission.
- Complaints regarding dishonesty or fraudulent activity in a KCU distance education program in a state outside of Missouri may be initiated through KCU's student grievance procedure. According to the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA), the initial responsibility for investigating and resolving such grievances resides with the institution. If a person bringing a complaint is not satisfied with the outcome of the institutional process for handling complaints, the complaint (except for complaints about grades or student conduct violations) may be appealed the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development (DHEWD) using the process described on their website. DHEWD's decision is final. For more information about the distance-education complaint resolution process, see the National Council for State Authorization and Reciprocity Agreements. Note that a student may pursue the SARA-prescribed complaint procedure administered by DHEWD notwithstanding any arbitration agreement with KCU.
- DHEWD will consider certain additional types of complaints following the student’s exhaustion of all processes available at their institution. Students interested in DHEWD's complaint process, may wish to review their complaint resolution policy.
*The information provided here is not comprehensive and other factors may influence an individual's decision to apply or enroll.