accreditation

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

accreditation
    n 1: the act of granting credit or recognition (especially with
         respect to educational institution that maintains suitable
         standards); "a commission is responsible for the
         accreditation of medical schools"

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Accreditation \Ac*cred`i*ta"tion\, n.
   The act of accrediting; as, letters of accreditation.
   [1913 Webster]