Source methodology

Method in one paragraph

Academic Review HQ uses primary sources: HLC directory, DAPIP, ED materials, CHEA resources, and Federal Register rules or clarifications. The University of Phoenix accreditation page provides institution-owned history.

The site does not use rankings, anonymous forums, review widgets, or AI answers as primary proof of accreditation status. Topic-selection data informs page architecture, not factual claim support.

How each source is used

HLC sources are used for HLC identity, institution-specific HLC checks, and HLC context. DAPIP is used for federal database cross-checking. Department of Education and CHEA sources are used for recognition terminology and accreditation concepts.

Federal Register materials are used for the 2020 terminology shift and later clarification. University of Phoenix sources are used for University of Phoenix-owned statements about accreditation history, while current public status is checked against retained HLC and DAPIP captures.

How sources are narrowed

A source appears in a page log only when that page makes a claim the source can support. College Scorecard is not used in this copy because the pages do not make College Scorecard-supported outcome-data claims.

Dynamic sources are described according to capture status. In this package, retained HLC and DAPIP captures support current University of Phoenix status claims.

What the method avoids

The method avoids named institution comparisons, rankings, guarantees, CDR trend claims, unpublished PSOL scores, review-widget framing, vendor labor-market-data naming, and recruitment-reform claims.

Each page states its source use in terms of the claim it actually makes. Terminology claims use terminology sources. Institution-status claims use institution records. Downstream-decision claims require the source controlled by the decision-maker.

Keeping status language current

The retained HLC and DAPIP captures should stay with the source files for this site. Routine pre-submission URL checks are still appropriate for static sources, and dynamic records should be rechecked if publication is delayed or a source record changes.

If a current source contradicts a page, update the copy, brief, source table, and review materials before relying on it.

How topic-selection data is used without proving claims

Topic-selection data helps determine which questions deserve pages because it shows how searchers and answer systems branch from an anchor prompt. It does not prove accreditation status, institutional quality, or student outcomes.

For that reason, topic themes guide architecture only. Every factual claim in the copy still needs a primary source or a source that is appropriate for the claim type.

Source log

• HLC Directory of Institutions: https://www.hlcommission.org/directory-of-institutions/ | Used for HLC institution-record verification. University of Phoenix current-status claims are supported by the retained HLC Statement of Accreditation Status capture dated July 6, 2026.

• U.S. Department of Education DAPIP: https://ope.ed.gov/dapip/ | Used as a federal accreditation database cross-check. The retained University of Phoenix DAPIP profile capture supports the HLC institutional-accreditation cross-check.

• CHEA institutional accrediting organizations: https://www.chea.org/institutional-accrediting-organizations | Used for accreditor-recognition context where applicable. It does not support named-institution status by itself.

• U.S. Department of Education Accreditation in the United States: https://www.ed.gov/laws-and-policy/higher-education-laws-and-policy/college-accreditation/accreditation-in-the-us | Used for federal accreditation and recognition-context explanations. It does not support transfer, employment, licensure, admission, salary, aid, or benefit results.

• 2019 Federal Register accreditation rule: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/11/01/2019-23129/student-assistance-general-provisions-the-secretarys-recognition-of-accrediting-agencies-the | Used for regional/national terminology-change context and the July 1, 2020 effective-date explanation. It does not replace current institution lookup.

• 2026 Federal Register terminology clarification: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/02/17/2026-03074/clarification-of-the-appropriate-use-of-terms-national-and-regional-by-recognized-accrediting | Used for current clarification about regional and national terminology. It does not replace current institution lookup.

• University of Phoenix accreditation page: https://www.phoenix.edu/about/accreditation.html | Used for University of Phoenix-owned accreditation statements only. Current public status is checked against retained HLC and DAPIP captures.