AAMI Approvals & Accreditations

State Authorization

Article I. Curriculum Information

All courses in AAMI’s curriculum are offered each semester. Online semesters start in September, January and April. Required on-campus work is offered each semester on scheduled dates and times. See the AAMI website for start dates for courses each semester and the dates for Campus required Lab and course work.  Additional time on campus will be required if students have not met required clinical/embalming requirements.

Article II. State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA)

The National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) is a private nonprofit organization [501(c)(3)] that helps expand students’ access to educational opportunities and ensure more efficient, consistent, and effective regulation of distance education programs.  All states except California, including New York, where AAMI is physically located, are part of NC-SARA.  Out-of-state distance education students are called SARA students. 

Article III. SARA Complaint Resolution Process

AAMI, as a participant in SARA, believes that every SARA student deserves to have a positive educational experience at their institution. To that end, SARA provides a process for consumer protection complaints for SARA students. Consumer protection complaints against a School are allegations of improper or fraudulent activity, such as the provision of false or misleading information about program completion time or costs. The first step is for the student to exhaust the institution’s internal grievance process. If the SARA Complaint is not resolved to the student’s satisfaction, a student may appeal the institution’s decision with the state Portal Entity of the State where institution is physically located within two years of the incident at issue. See this link for more information. Please also see an overview of the process for SARA complaints at this link.

More specifically, an AAMI student from any of the NC-SARA participating states should first pursue resolution of a SARA Complaint through AAMI’s internal grievance procedures. Please contact Donald Cymbor at [email protected] in the case of a grievance. This process can also be found on page 34 in AAMI’s Student Handbook. If the student is not satisfied with the outcome of the institution’s complaint process, the student may appeal the institution’s decision with the NY State Education Department within two years of the incident about which the complaint is made. NC-SARA policies do not cover student complaints related to grades or student conduct violations. Please see a link to the NY State Education Department’s website that explains the regular (non-SARA) complaint process.

Article IV. AAMI’s Accreditation

American Academy McAllister Institute of Funeral Service, Inc. and the Funeral Service degree program are accredited by the American Board of Funeral Service Education (ABFSE), 992 Mantua Pike, Suite 108, Woodbury Heights, NJ 08097 (816) 233-3747. Web: www.abfse.org. 

The New York State Board of Regents has authorized AAMI to offer an Associate in Occupational Studies (A.O.S.) degree.