The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools Higher Learning Commission has granted regional accreditation to Capella University. The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education has granted accreditation to Capella University’s undergraduate and graduate teacher education programs. The graduate-level counseling program at Capella University has earned accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs and from the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs.

Dr. Harold Abel and Stephen Shank founded Capella University as The Graduate School of America in 1993. Shank served as Tonka’s previous CEO. The institution’s first president was Abel, who had previously served as the head of Castleton State College, Central Michigan University, and Walden University. Capella University attained regional accreditation in 1997.

The parent corporation and institution both changed their names to Capella Education Company and Capella University, respectively, two years later. Capella started providing bachelor’s degree programs in 2000. Capella Education Company became a publicly traded company in 2006, six years later. The National Security Agency designated 86 American higher education institutions as National Centers of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education (CAEIAE) in 2007, and Capella was one of them (NSA). The designation was valid from the 2007–2012 school year.

Capella Education Co. extended its office and gave the structure a new name when it secured a new lease in March 2008. All of the company’s 1,150 administrative employees in downtown Minneapolis are housed under one structure.

The BS in Information Technology with a specialization in Project Management and the MS in Information Technology with a specialization in Project Management from Capella University were both accredited by The Project Management Institute’s (PMI) Global Accreditation Center for Project Management (GAC) in 2009.

Prior to November 2010, Capella University merely asked candidates to provide proof of a high school diploma, GED, or its equivalent.