Marjorie Webster Junior College, Inc. v. Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, Inc.

Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, Inc. (the association) (defendant) was a nonprofit educational association that sought to promote high-quality higher education by accrediting colleges and universities. Marjorie Webster Junior College, Inc. (Marjorie Webster) (plaintiff) was a proprietary junior college for women that has been operating since 1947. In 1966, Marjorie Webster applied to the association for accreditation but was denied because Marjorie Webster was not a nonprofit organization with a governing board. Marjorie Webster had been operating successfully as a junior college even without accreditation from the association and was licensed by the District of Columbia Board of Education to offer associate degrees to students. Students at Marjorie Webster could transfer their college credits to four-year universities if they chose to do so. Marjorie Webster filed a lawsuit against the association. The district court ruled in favor of Marjorie Webster, finding that the association’s refusal to offer accreditation to proprietary institutions was a violation of the Sherman Act, that the Due Process Clause was applicable to the association due to its accrediting activities, that it was arbitrary and unreasonable for the association to deny accreditation to institutions solely due to their proprietary status, and that denying consideration of Marjorie Webster’s application for accreditation would result in irreparable injury to Marjorie Webster. The association appealed.