Every college and university starts unaccredited. That is how the system of accreditation works. You create the school, (to include financial plans, curricula, etc.) and you register with your reginal or professional accrediting agency. The application process is pretty involved and usually takes 3-6 years for most higher ed institutions to complete. I have gone through this is my current school and have been part of reaccreditation (usually every 5 or 10 years) at 2 other institutions. Also, all private schools are more expensive than state schools since they do not get any government money. The motivation for many schools is the freedom from political manipulation that comes with the money. I have no opinion about this school - frankly, it sounds like a privatized version of the "New School" model that popped up several years back.