Its initial development was funded by grants from the Ford Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation.

In April 1998, the Board of Regents granted the school a charter to operate as an independent institution.

Instead, it provided students a framework for having academic credits earned elsewhere evaluated and assembled into a degree program.

[5][6][7] Sources of college credit that can be used towards an Excelsior degree program include Excelsior distance learning courses, courses from other accredited institutions, college-level subject-matter examinations (including CLEP exams, and DSST/DANTES exams), non-collegiate training (including corporate, governmental, and military training) that has been evaluated for college-level credit by the American Council on Education (ACE) and National College Credit Recommendation Service (NCCRS), and assessments of prior learning portfolios.

[8][9][10] Excelsior University is regionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.