Western Association of Schools and Colleges

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Substantive Change

As defined in the Handbook of Accreditation, a substantive change at an accredited or candidate institution is a change that may significantly affect an institution's quality, objectives, scope, or control. These proposed institutional changes are reviewed by the Substantive Change Committee.

WASC has required prior approval of institutional substantive changes in degree programs, methods of delivery, and organizational changes since 1979. Under both Commission policy and federal law, certain substantive changes are required to have prior approval.

The procedures defined in the 2012 Substantive Change Manual provide guidelines for institutions to demonstrate compliance with these regulations, as well as other WASC requirements.

Applying for Substantive Change Review

1. Review the Substantive Change Manual to determine review requirements, timelines and submission procedures. (If you are not sure if a change requires substantive change review, please contact Sharyl McGrew, Substantive Change Manager, at smcgrew [at] wascsenior [dot] org.)
2. Submit the Substantive Change Application and fees to WASC to reserve a spot on the Substantive Change Committee review docket.
3. Develop and submit the substantive change proposal as instructed by WASC staff. Click here for the Guide to Submitting Substantive Change Proposals using LiveText.

Documents and Policies

For more information regarding substantive change, access to documents and policies including the Substantive Change Manual, application for review and other forms, please visit our document library: 

• NEW: Presentation from the 2011 ARC on 'The Basics' of Substantive Change
• NEW: Top 10 Reasons Substantive Change Proposals Are Not Accepted
• Samples of previously approved substantive change proposals
• Proposal templates used for substantive change review
• Search for General Substantive Change Resources in our Document Library

The Commission welcomes suggestions for improvement of these resources and ways to make the substantive change process itself more useful to institution.