Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities
Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities
We hope that you are having a good summer! It is proving to be a busy one here in the WASC office, as we prepare for a full season of visits in the fall.
As you will see below, the most notable news item to come out of the June Commission meeting was the approval of changes to the Institutional Review Process. These changes, together with the previously approved revisions to the Standards and CFRs, went into effect on July 1st. Letters were sent to all institutions last week to explain the details of the changes and to highlight what should be addressed during upcoming reviews. If you have not received this letter, or if you have any additional questions, please contact your WASC staff liaison.
As always, we also welcome other questions, comments and suggestions, and we look forward to hearing from you with your concerns and recommendations.
Sincerely,
Ralph Wolff
President and Executive Director
At its meeting on June 18-20, the Accrediting Commission reviewed 27 institutions and three structural changes, and approved 18 substantive change requests.
A detailed list of the June 2008 Commission actions may be viewed at: June 08 Action List.
Following their circulation to the region for comment, the Accrediting Commission adopted revisions to the Institutional Review Process. The changes shorten the accreditation review cycle, simplify the focus of each review, and add new required essays on student success and program review.
These revisions, together with the earlier revisions to the Standards of Accreditation and Criteria for Review (CFRs), went into effect on July 1, 2008 and will be phased in over the course of the 2008-09 academic year. As mentioned above, letters have already been sent to each institution, to notify them of how the changes will affect their next interactions with WASC.
An updated version of the Handbook of Accreditation, which includes the revisions to the Standards, CFRs, and Institutional Review Process, may be viewed on the WASC website.
Redline versions of the changes to these documents may be reviewed at:
Standards and CFRs - Redline
Institutional Review Process - Redline
A new Policy on Compliance Audits, and a corresponding Compliance Audit Checklist, were ratified by the Commission, following their circulation to the region for comment. The checklist will be reviewed during all candidacy and initial accreditation reviews, and when an institution is placed on a sanction.
Revisions to the following policies were ratified by the Commission in June:
Policy on Complaints and 3rd Party Comments
Policy on Transfer of Accreditation
Policy on BPPVE Approval
The Commission had previously planned to launch a three-year process for a comprehensive review of the accreditation process, beginning in 2008-09. The Commission has now reassessed the timing of this major project and has determined that it needs to be deferred until 2010-11. With the adoption of the revised Standards and Institutional Review Process, the Commission wished to allow sufficient time for these changes to be implemented and their impact assessed. In addition, the Commission and staff workload of visits is extremely high in the next two years - nearly double the normal load - and will not return to normal until 2010-11. The Commission determined that the first priority is to complete these visits, and to provide support for institutions and teams undergoing review. In the meantime, staff will be preparing a series of new materials for institutions and teams in 2008-09 for the purpose of clarifying Commission expectations.
WASC is pleased to welcome Michael Jackson, Vice President for Student Affairs at the University of Southern California, as the newest member of the Accrediting Commission. Dr. Jackson was previously dean of students at Stanford University and has over twenty years of experience in the field of student affairs. He will serve a three-year term on the Commission, from July 2008 - June 2011.
We are also pleased to announce that Horace Mitchell, President of California State University, Bakersfield, has agreed to serve a second term as Vice Chair of the Commission.
Profiles of all current commissioners may be viewed at: Commission Profiles.
The Commission approved a final budget for 2008-09 that includes a major investment in a technology review. In addition to a new website, Commission staff will be undertaking a major review of how technology can better serve institutions and teams, and how internal processes can be streamlined.
On the federal front, the Higher Education Act has finally passed in Congress. Through the coordinated efforts of the accrediting community, and working together with other higher education associations, nearly all of our concerns were addressed in the final bill. We thank everyone who assisted and supported our efforts in this process.
Regarding California legislation, the bill that extended the Bureau of Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education (BPPVE) expired on June 30, 2008, and its proposed replacement, SB823, failed. Thank you to everyone who wrote letters to Sacramento during this process. We are now in contact with Senator Perata's staff regarding whether a new bill will be brought forward before the legislative recess, and we will keep you posted as the situation develops.
Printer-friendly version