The 2013 Handbook is designed to serve several purposes: to present the Commission’s Core Commitments and Standards of Accreditation; to guide institutions through the institutional review process; and to assist review teams at each stage of review.

The WSCUC 2023 Handbook provides information on the 2023 Standards, the Institutional Review Process for Reaffirmation, and Commission Decisions.

Member institutions log in to the Accreditation Management Portal (AMP) to submit their annual reports, request substantive changes, and view invoices. The AMP is also used by institutions to update profile information, institutional contacts, and details related to programs and locations

This page provides information and resources for institutions interested in seeking WSCUC accreditation.

This page provides access to data on WSCUC accredited institutions, information about WSCUC data initiatives such as peer benchmarking, and highlights of WSCUC’s “Better Conversations, Better Data” initiative.

The Key Indicators Dashboard (KID) presents detailed trend and comparative information on WSCUC’s accredited undergraduate and graduate institutions in a clear, easy to use format. KID displays from federal data sets to present multiple years of metrics, trend data, and comparisons based on both national and WSCUC averages. KID provides integrated, accessible data on institution size and context, student completion, student finances, institution finances, and post-graduation outcomes.

Information on how institutions need to report and seek approval of changes to their mission, educational programs, scope, control or organizational structure.

Details on the 2025 WSCUC annual report submission process within the Accreditation Management Portal (AMP).

Accreditation Liaison Officers, ALOs, serve as institutions’ primary points of contact and help ensure a strong relationship between the Commission and institution.

Member institutions log in to the Accreditation Management Portal (AMP) to submit annual reports, request substantive changes, and view invoices. The AMP is also used by institutions to update profile information, institutional contacts, and details related to programs and locations.

This document provides an overview of Key Indicators Dashboard (KID), including a description of the dashboard, the content, and how the dashboard is used as part of the accreditation process.

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.

Details on the 2025 WSCUC annual report submission process within the Accreditation Management Portal (AMP).

Details on the 2025 WSCUC annual report submission process within the Accreditation Management Portal (AMP).

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.

Roles and responsibilities of the Commission's Accreditation Policy & Procedure Committee.

WSCUC’s Accreditation Resource Conference (ARC) is an annual gathering of WSCUC and the broader higher education community that focuses on issues of critical importance and features presentations and content geared towards accreditation and institutional improvement.

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.

2023 Handbook: These directions and template are for use by the institution when preparing the institutional report.

This spreadsheet provides a sample schedule of meetings for visits.

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.

Role of the Commission's Appeals Committee.

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

The ALO Forum is an annual event and part of the ARC. The 2021 webinar, "What’s New & Lessons from the Pandemic," features a panel of ALOs discussing what they learned and how it affects the future.

WSCUC Vice Presidents and guest panelists discuss the Thematic Pathway for Reaffirmation (TPR) during this ARC2021 virtual conference session.

WSCUC’s Accreditation Resource Conference (ARC) is an annual gathering of WSCUC and the broader higher education community that focuses on issues of critical importance and features presentations and content geared towards accreditation and institutional improvement.

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

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

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

This guide describes what to expect when participating in a commission meeting, including the commission panel process. For use by both commissioners and institutional representatives.

This list identifies the most commonly cited areas of revision in substantive change proposals. The first section lists issues commonly caught in the preliminary staff review done by WSCUC staff. Other sections identify common issues specific to undergraduate, graduate and distance education programs.

Roles and responsibilities of the Commission's Compensation Committee.

Statement of the Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions (C-RAC) on the Framework for Competency-Based Education.

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.

2023 Handbook: This worksheet serves two purposes: 1) To provide reviewers ready access to evidence that the institution is in compliance with Commission Standards 2) To prompt conversation within the institution regarding institutional capacity and infrastructure, strengths, weaknesses, priorities, and plans for ensuring compliance with the Standards.

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 is a template of the language that could be used to notify an institution’s community of their opportunity to share information with WSCUC as part of the review via the confidential email. Submissions to the confidential email are not accessible to institutions.

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.

An explanation of the credit hour policy, the requirement for compliance with federal regulations, and how institutional credit hour policies will be evaluated as part of the accreditation process.

One of four forms that WSCUC uses to address institutional compliance with federal regulations, this form is completed by teams in evaluating the reliability and accuracy of the institution's assignment of credit hours. During the Accreditation Visit, teams complete this form and add it as an appendix to the Team Report.

The KI Fields and Definitions dictionary provides definitions of the KI data elements and documents the sources of the data.

2023 Handbook: This guide provides definitions of non-degree programs, undergraduate degree programs, and graduate degree programs.

Information on Substantive Changes, including how they are defined, and the process for applying for such a change.

A completed copy of this form should be appended to the team report for all comprehensive visits to institutions that offer distance education programs and for other visits as applicable.

2023 Handbook: Under federal regulations, WSCUC is required to demonstrate that distance education programs are reviewed during the comprehensive accreditation/reaffirmation process. This guide details specific elements to be included in upcoming reviews, to ensure that each team is reviewing distance education programs in a consistent manner.