When several operationally separate units are governed by a single board with a central system administration, the purposes of accreditation will more nearly be served by close coordination between the institution, the system’s central administration, and the Commission during the period of self-analysis, the on-campus visit, and the Commission hearing. These guidelines are designed to assist all concerned in arriving at a clearer understanding of institutional purposes and accomplishments, while preserving integrity and autonomy for the institutions within a system.

This guide is for institutions considering entering into agreements with unaccredited providers and is designed to be referenced in conjunction with the Agreements with Unaccredited Entities Policy.

When an accredited institution enters into an agreement with an unaccredited entity with the intent that the latter will provide services to the accredited institution, the accredited institution must ensure that the services provided by the unaccredited entity comply with the Commission’s Standards and policies.

This guide provides screenshots and instructions on how to submit the annual report in the Accreditation Management Portal (AMP). The guide outlines each report section, describes the data items collected, and provides links to relevant IPEDS definitions and resources.

To become accredited by WSCUC, Institutions must submit the application for accreditation form along with the candidacy/initial accreditation fee.

Institutions must submit this form regarding Changes of Ownership, Mission or Form of Control within 30 days after implementation of the change.

This form is used to submit a complaint to WSCUC and includes the submission instructions and links to relevant policy documents.

WSCUC has two established means for receiving comments from concerned stakeholders about its member institutions: complaints and third-party comments. This document describes the WSCUC policy related to complaints and third-party comments as it pertains to member institutions and other parties in the process.

This email announcement is used by the institution to notify its general population (faculty, staff, students, board members, and alumni, as appropriate) of the confidential email address available for submitting comments to the review team before or during a WSCUC site visit.

This policy describes the duty to avoid conflicts of interest and the appearance of conflicts of interest applying to all participants in the accreditation process pertaining to an institution. This includes individuals who are selected to serve on review teams, Commissioners, committee and panel members, working group members, staff members, consultants, and any other individual who acts on behalf of the Commission. It complements Commission expecations related to ethical conduct.

This policy describes the conditions under which an institution may provide credit for prior learning. This policy is designed for institution-based assessment and crediting processes and does not apply to credit for prior learning practices that take place outside of an institution.

Under federal regulations, both institutions and accrediting agencies are required to come into compliance with regulations regarding the definition and assignment of credit hours. In implementing this policy, Commission evaluation teams will review institutional documentation including the institution’s policy on credit hour and expectations at each degree level.

For financial aid issues, please contact the Federal Student Aid Office of the Ombudsman at 1-877-557-2575, or review this resource.

A dual degree program is defined as a program of study offered collaboratively by two institutions that leads to the award of a separate degree from each of the participating institutions. This policy outlines the expectations for institutions offering dual degree programs in conformity with the Standards of Accreditation (the Standards).

Representatives of WSCUC submit this form for reimbursement out-of-pocket expenses incurred while attending meetings of the Commission, when serving on accreditation review teams, or performing other assigned duties.

There are four forms that WSCUC uses to address institutional compliance with some of the federal regulation’s affecting institutions and accrediting agencies. During the visit, teams complete these four forms and add them as an appendix to the Team Report.

The policy for WSCUC staff, peer evaluators, and commissioners related to the receipt of gifts from eligible, candidate, and accredited institutions.

This policy describes the governing board requirements for all institutions that are accredited or seeking accreditation.

This document provides guidance on implementing the Governing Board Policy and addresses institutional governing board structures, characteristics, and practices that promote effective decision and policy making in the best interests of the educational institution.

The purpose of these guidelines is to complement and inform the WSCUC Standards of Accreditation, providing more specific guidance about the planning, development, and evaluation of graduate programs. These guidelines are minimal baseline standards for quality and do not necessarily reflect robust or ideal characteristics of graduate programs.

WSCUC assures appeal rights to its member institutions. An institution that receives notice of an appealable adverse action from WSCUC may, upon written request and in accordance with this policy, appeal the action prior to the action becoming final. This document describes appealable adverse actions, the procedures for filing an appeal, and the process by which appeals are reviewed.

This policy defines the circumstances under which an institution is responsibile for informing the Commission of any litigation or legal actions.

This form is signed by an institution’s CEO to affirm the accuracy of the information presented in the institutional report and the intention to comply fully with WSCUC’s Standards and policies.

This policy defines the requirements for institutions supported by or affiliated with another organization or part of a larger organization whose purpose is not primarily higher education.

This guide describes best practices in institution-system relations, both in terms of how boards govern in this environment and how systems and individual institutions interact.

The International Education Resource Guide describes the ‘Principles of Good Practice in Overseas International Education Programs for non-US Nationals.’

The International Students Policy outines the responsibilities of institutions that recruit and enroll international students.

A joint degree program is one in which a program is offered collaboratively by two or more accredited institutions and leads to the award of a single degree issued jointly by participating institutions. As outlined in this policy, institutions are expected to design and operate joint degree offerings in conformity with the Standards of Accreditation (the Standards) and relevant policies.

The KI Tip Sheets for Teams provides tips for how to use Key Indicators (KI) reports as part of an accreditation review, general questions to consider when reviewing and discussing the KI data, and specific questions related to the CFRs

The Legal Costs and Obligations Policy was adopted by WSCUC to assure that any financial burden arising from information requests and legal proceedings can be managed fairly and without disruption to WSCUC’s core purposes.

This form is completed by review teams to demonstrate the monitoring of an institution’s recruiting and admissions practices, in compliance with federal regulations.

This guide is intended to help team members prepare for meetings with institutional representatives and ask questions that will result in useful information.

An overview of the timeline and process for peer review teams participating in the remote offsite review, including the actions to be taken by team members, WSCUC staff, and the institution before, during, and after the remote offsite review (OSR).

This policy sets forth special protections that the Commission will extend for proprietary information.

This policy describes the executive session and the public session held at the Commission meeting and the procedure for both public meetings and public hearings.

This policy describes the Commission’s support of the principles of transparency and accountability and details the key accreditation information that is made available to the public.

This policy describes the process for an institution to reapply after a denial of candidacy or initial ccreditation by the Commission.

This form is completed and signed by the institution’s CEO and board chair to reapply for Candidacy/Initial Accreditation after the institution has been denied.

This policy describes the responsibilities of institutions with related entities (Corporate Entity, System, or Religious or other Funding Sponsor) and is intended to ensure that accreditors receive appropriate assurances, and sufficient information and documentation, to determine whether such institutions comply with Commission standards and policies.

This form relates to the Related Entities Policy (Corporate Entity, System, or Religious or other Funding Sponsor) and is signed by the CEO of the related entity to certify that it controls the accredited or eligible institution.

This policy describes the Commission’s practice of regularly reviewing and reaffirming the Standards of Accreditation and the process by which changes to the Standards are proposed..

This form is used by teams to convey the recommendation to the Commission following a Seeking Accreditation Visit.

This policy describes the criteria for identifying separately accreditable institutions.

The policy concerning information sharing with other accrediting agencies, state agencies, the United States Department of Education (USDE), and other international agencies relevant to the institution.

This template is for use by the visit chair in the initial communication to team members prior to a Special Visit.

This form is used by teams to convey the recommendation to the Commission following a Special Visit.

The ALO completes this sample Special Visit schedule as a draft and presents it to the team chair and WSCUC staff seven weeks before the visit. Session times will vary, as will the individuals and groups with whom the team meets. ALOs should consult the Planning the Visit section of the Visit Process Guide for more information on the schedule.

These directions and template are for use by the visiting team when preparing the team report for a special visit.

Recommendation from the team to the Commission for an institution on a sanction or Notice of Concern

Teams complete this form to document the review of the institution’s student complaints policies, procedures, and records in accordance with federal regulation.

This document describes WSCUC’s Substantive Change Policy for institutions. A substantive change is one that may significantly affect the institution’s quality, objectives, scope, or control, or that triggers conditions established under federal law.

This guide describes the Substantive Change pre-approval site visit and the template for the visit report

This guide serves to accompany the Teach-out Plans and Agreements policy and provides a more detailed set of guidelines and expectations for institutional activities and planning elements. It also includes sample templates for teach-out plans, teach-out agreements, individual student graduation plans, and teach-out plan updates to WSCUC at the end of the guide

A teach-out plan is a written plan developed by the institution if that institution, or an institutional location that provides one hundred percent of at least one program, ceases to operate before all students have completed their program of study. Institutions must submit a teach-out plan to WSCUC staff for approval prior to implementation of the plan.

This Substantive Change template is designed to frame a substantive Change proposal for awarding an academic degree that is based on measurable learning outcomes (competencies) or a combination of competencies and credit hours (hybrid model).

This Substantive Change template is to be completed for the following types of non-degree programs carrying academic credit (as determined by the institution): New program offered at any location (main campus or any off-campus location, including international); Distance education program (if 50% of more of the program will be offered by distance modality)

This Substantive Change template is for a new Additional Location or Branch Campus at which an institution plans to offer already approved degree programs.

This form is used to submit a third-party comment to WSCUC and includes the submission instructions and links to relevant policy documents

For institutions participating in Title IV programs under the HEA, the Title IV Compliance Policy describes how WSCUC monitors an institution’s compliance with federal Title IV requirements.

Under federal regulations, WSCUC is required to demonstrate that it monitors the institution’s transfer credit policy and practices. This form is to be completed by teams during the review process.

In accordance with 34 CFR 602.24, in its role as a federally recognized accreditor, WSCUC must confirm that an institution has transfer of credit policies that are publicly disclosed in accordance with section 668.43(a)(11) and include a statement of the criteria established by the institution regarding the transfer of credit earned at another institution of higher education.

This policy applies to all persons seeking reimbursement for travel and business expenses incurredin conducting WSCUC business.

The Commission may conduct unannounced visits to institutions when circumstances lead the Commission to believe that an institution’s activities may not be in conformity with the Commission’s Standards. Unannounced visits may also be conducted to verify that institutional representation of off-campus activities is accurate and consistent with its representations to the public.

The purpose of this guide is to help institutions, team members, and staff members write reports following the WSCUC editorial style and usage conventions.