This policy covers the balance of Commissioners and of evaluators for institutional reviews.

This policy covers how Commissioners are identified if they have institutional “academic” or “administrator” roles.

This policy describes the roles and responsibilities associated with the Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO). The ALO serves as the primary contact between WSCUC and the institution, ensures a strong relationship between the Commission and institution, and supports the institution in its accreditation activities.

The purpose of this records treatment, retention and disposal policy is to ensure that necessary accreditation records are adequately protected and maintained by WSCUC in accordance with 34 CFR 602.15(b) of the Higher Education Act (HEA).

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.

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 Antitrust Policy is intended to (a) identify activities that Commissioners and staff must never engage in; (b) require Commissioners and staff to seek legal advice if they believe a situation raises potential antitrust issues; and (c) require Commissioners and staff to promptly report a suspected violation of this Antitrust Policy.

In the rapidly evolving landscape of education and technology, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) presents both opportunities and challenges for the accreditation process.

The formal bylaws adopted by the Commission describe its governance structure.

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 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.

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).

This policy covers the definition of Educator and Practitioner relating to institutions under review.

This policy covers the assignment of Educators and Practitioners as peer evaluators on agency reviews.

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.

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.

WSUC has traditionally invited and included institutional responses to team reports in Commission materials for review of institutions. This policy establishes that such communications are officially part of the institutional record, complying with Department of Education requirements.

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.

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 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 policy lists the CFRs for which the agency will report non-compliance to the US Department of Education.

This policy describes the Commission's responsibility to notify the Secretary of Education of proposed changes in policies, procedures, or accreditation standards that would alter its status or scope of recognition or might alter compliance with the criteria for recognition.

The policy concerning the presence of observers on peer review teams.

This policy was adopted by WSCUC to address issues related to the ownership of stock in for-profit insitutions and the potential for conflicts of interest and insider trading.

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 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 policy describes the procedures for creating, revising, or retiring a policy and outlines the consideration of public comments on changes to policies before they are acted upon by the Commission. In addition, this policy provides definitions of the different documents issued by WSCUC.

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 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 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.

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.

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.

WSCUC has traditionally provided training to peer reviewers on its standards and procedures for reviews of institutions. This policy officially codifies the training of WSCUC’s peer reviewers, ensuring compliance with federal regulations.

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.