[1] Founded in 1976 as a graduate school providing continuing education for certified public accountants, the university provides distance education and offers academic programs up to the doctoral level.

The university was founded in 1976 and received full accreditation in 2003 from the Distance Education and Training Council.

William Howard Taft University's Doctor of Education program was suspended in 2003, so that the university might be accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council, which did not accredit doctoral programs at the time.

In 2009, the DETC's scope of authority was expanded to include professional doctorates and the program was resumed.

Doctoral degree programs are offered in business (DBA) and education (EdD).