ALAMEDA, CA – WSCUC President and CEO Jamienne S. Studley issued a statement following the release of a new Council of Regional Accreditors (C-RAC) report summarizing the findings from a year-long review of institutions with the lowest federal graduation rates:

Accountability for student success is a top priority in our work to assure postsecondary quality. I’ve seen firsthand a meaningful shift among regional accreditors in attention to student outcomes and institutional performance, including C-RAC’s September 2016 announcement of stronger links between accreditation and completion. This new C-RAC report illustrates an important commitment by regional accreditors to use graduation rates as a sign of progress or need for improvement, and as a red flag for intervention or sanctions.

Effective gatekeeping and peer review depend on high-quality data, and WSCUC continues to pursue innovative ways to understand critical performance factors. The Commission has created a valuable tool, the Graduation Rate Dashboard, to provide more comprehensive, nuanced, and actionable information about credit redemption and college completion. This approach complements the strategies of our C-RAC partners, as we each work to strengthen the accreditation process using student outcomes.

To view the C-RAC report, which includes examples of how each regional accreditor uses graduation rate data, click here. To learn more about the WSCUC Graduation Rate Dashboard, click here.

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The WASC Senior College and University Commission is a regional accrediting agency serving a diverse membership of public and private higher education institutions throughout California, Hawaii, and the Pacific, as well as a limited number of institutions outside the U.S. Through its work of peer review, based on standards agreed to by the membership, the Commission encourages continuous institutional improvement and assures the membership and its constituencies, including the public, that accredited institutions are fulfilling their missions in service to their students and the public good.