1. Regional Accreditation
Process and Issues

2. Overview
• 6 U.S. regional accrediting agencies
• NEASC (6 states)
• Middle States (5 states + D.C.)
• NCA (19 states)
• SCAS (11 states)
• NWCCU (7 states)
• WASC (2 states)

3. Text
Hold for US map of regional
accreditors

4. WASC Standards
1. Define Institutional Purpose and Educational
Objectives
2. Achieve Educational Objectives through Core
Functions
3. Develop and Apply Resources and
Organizational Structure to Ensure Sustainability
4. Create an Organization Committed to Learning
and Improvement

5. 1. Define Institutional Purpose and Educational Objectives
• Appropriate Mission and Purpose
• Focus on student achievement, retention, completion,
and learning
• Accountability
• Commitment to academic freedom
• Focus on Diversity to mirror students
• Operates with autonomy as educational institution
• Clear and truthful representation; integrity in operations

6. 2. Achieve Educational Objectives through Core
Functions
• Appropriate content, standards for degree
• Programs and requirements clearly defined
• Learning outcomes are clear and used
• Graduates achieve stated standards
• QA is systemic
• Actively promote scholarship
• Collect, analyze, and act on student data
• Student Services meets needs of students

7. 3. Develop and Apply Resources and Organizational
Structure to Ensure Sustainability
• Sufficient full-time qualified faculty
• Clear faculty policies (workload, evals, …)
• Supported faculty development
• History of financial stability
• Sufficient Learning Resources
• IT sufficient to support mission
• Clear organizational leadership roles (CEO, CFO, CAO)
• Independent governing board
• Faculty have role in governance

8. 4. Create an Organization Committed to
Learning and Improvement
• Clear and open strategic planning process
• QA is well defined at all key levels
• Institutional research collects data to support
assessment of learning
• Ongoing improvement of teaching and learning
• Broad stakeholder involvement in institutional
assessment

9. Issues with Competency-based programs:
WGU experience
• The WASC Senior Commission has very little
experience with for-profit institutions
• Force focus on learning outcomes not class seat time
• Clearly articulate that competency is assessment
based, not experiential learning
• Translation between traditional 120 credit “hour”
degree programs must be defined
• Faculty model and scholarship must be clearly
defined and explained
• Courses and learning resources intensely scrutinized

10. Game Plan
• May 2011 - secure agreement from DETC to move to
competency based model
• Complete Self Study for DETC re-affirmation by
September 2011
• Achieve DETC reaccreditation by January 2012 as online
Competency-based model
• January 2012 - Petition WASC for accelerated path to
regional accreditation
• 2013 - achieve regional accreditation as online
competency-based university