The NAUMS, Inc. certification process protects and maintains the identity and integrity of the University-Model®. Successfully completing this process prepares schools for school accreditation. Certification standards have been established for the major components of the University-Model® including Academics, Character Development/Family Ministry, Student Activities, and Program Support.

The UM certification standards are cross-referenced to the Cognia accreditation standards. Cognia accreditation of the NAUMS, Inc. corporation opened the door to Cognia accreditation of the University-Model®.

Cognia is the largest community of education professionals in the world. It is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that conducts rigorous, on-site external reviews of PreK-12 schools and school or corporate systems (like NAUMS, Inc.) to ensure that all learners realize their full potential. While their expertise is grounded in more than a hundred years of work in school accreditation, Cognia is far from a typical accrediting agency. Their goal is not to certify that schools are good enough. Rather, their commitment is to help schools improve.

Combining the knowledge and expertise of a research institute, the skills of a management consulting firm, and the passion of a grassroots movement for educational change, Cognia serves as a trusted partner to 32,000 schools and school systems—employing more than four million educators and enrolling more than 20 million students—across the United States and 70 other nations. Cognia was created through a 2006 merger of the PreK-12 divisions of the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI)—and expanded through the addition of the Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC) in 2011.

Prior to the merger that resulted in Cognia, NAUMS, Inc. was accredited by the Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation in 2006. NAUMS, Inc. Certification and Cognia Accreditation hold member schools accountable for implementing and maintaining high standards while ensuring parents the excellence and quality to which their children are entitled.

Only member schools are eligible for NAUMS, Inc. Certification and the consultative services required for successful Cognia accreditation. Once member schools are certified by NAUMS, Inc., they are automatically eligible for Cognia Accreditation.

In June of 2021, the NAUMS, Inc. corporation was approved for Cognia Corporate System accreditation for all certified University-Model® schools. Originally accredited as an educational corporation in 2006, NAUMS, Inc. supports the school association known as University-Model® Schools International (UMSI), which is a dba of NAUMS, Inc.

Approval of the NAUMS, Inc. Corporate System of Cognia Accreditation for all certified UMSI schools gives the corporation the opportunity and privilege to represent Cognia when it conducts on-site engagement review visits every five years. These visits serve a dual purpose: NAUMS, Inc. Certification and Cognia Accreditation.

To facilitate this combined process, the NAUMS, Inc. Certification Standards have been cross walked with the Cognia Accreditation Standards. Therefore, when a school provides digital evidence of compliance with the NAUMS, Inc. Certification Standards, it is also providing evidence of compliance with Cognia Accreditation standards. University-Model® schools maintain their Cognia accreditation through NAUMS, Inc. membership and certification.

NAUMS, Inc. and UMSI are distinctly Christian ministries, consistently striving to educate with excellence in today’s dynamic culture. This necessitates being fully informed of current cultural trends while at the same time actively engaging all learning pursuits and relationships with well-studied biblical worldview. This includes the manner in which keywords are defined and interpreted. In all matters of best practice, NAUMS, Inc. favors the classic biblical definitions of words and values over their contemporary, often changing usages.