Central Washington University

Accreditation

Accreditation History

Accreditation began as a voluntary process of peer review to establish standards for quality educational offerings, institutional integrity, and to transfer credits from one institution to another. Occurring during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when travel was more limited and institutions were less differentiated in their offerings, it made sense that colleges and universities would form these voluntary associations based on region.

For the history of our NWCCU regional accreditation from 1918 onward, please see: CWU NWCCU History (PDF)

CWU Accreditation

Accreditation provides CWU periodic opportunities to examine the quality of our academic programs and services and to document how we continually work to improve our offerings.

Types of Accreditation

Regional - for institutions
Specialized - for specific programs

Specialized Accreditation

CWU holds several specialized accreditations:

Importance

Research grants
Programs that serve CWU students:

College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP)
GEAR-UP
Upward Bound
Student Support Services
McNair Scholars Program

Title IV funding:

Federal student loans
Pell grants
Work study funds
All other federal student financial aid

CWU News

CWU Army ROTC to host nighttime Norwegian Foot March this Friday

May 1, 2024

by Rune Torgersen

Grant-funded Limitless network brings Yakima students to CWU