All About DEAC CREDIT The Distance Education Accreditation Commission (DEAC) has approved all 15 Sophia's courses for Approved Quality Curriculum (AQC) status. For more than 89 years, DEAC has operated as a national accreditor of distance education institutions and was the first to establish a distinctive process for evaluating curriculum offered outside of the traditional academic domain of higher education institutions. The DEAC is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education as a reliable authority on quality assessment of distance education.