Western Association of Schools and Colleges

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Sponsorship or Control

• Religious
• Independent
• Proprietary
• State
• Other Entity

For the purposes of the policy, religious sponsorship is defined as:

1. the governing board is controlled by a religious order or entity that designates one-third or more of the members of the institution's governing board
2. the institution is financially dependent on the religious order or religious entity (i.e., provides more than ten percent of unrestricted revenue from operations)
3. or the religious order or entity establishes major academic policies

Degree Levels

• A = Associate degree
• B = Baccalaureate degree
• M = Master's degree
• E = Education Specialist degree
• P  = Professional Doctoral degree
• D = Doctoral degree

Enrollment

The enrollment figures are those for full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment submitted by the institutions based on the previous Fall enrollment.

Off-Campus and Distance Education

An off-campus program is defined as any program where 50 percent or more of a degree is offered more than 25 miles from the home campus. A distance education program is defined as a program where 50 percent or more of the program is offered via technology-mediated instruction.

Pre-accreditation status: Candidate for Accreditation

Candidate for Accreditation is a status of preliminary affiliation with the Commission, awarded to institutions for a limited period following a specified procedure for institutional self-study and on-site evaluation. Candidacy is subject to renewal. Candidacy is not accreditation and does not assure eventual accreditation. It is an indication that an institution is progressing toward accreditation.

Accreditation Status / Sanctions

If a public sanction has been imposed such as Warning, Probation, or Show Cause, the sanction would be noted here, e.g., Accredited (on probation) with a link to the Commission's public statement.

Sanctions, such as denial, termination, show cause, probation, and warning, may be applied to an institution when, following an investigation, the Commission concludes that an institution is in serious non-compliance with one or more Commission Standards. Sanctions are applied infrequently, with the intent to apply significant pressure on the institution to bring itself into compliance. During the period of sanction, the accreditation of an institution continues. For further information, contact the Commission Office.