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
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:
- Applied and Natural Science Accreditation Commission of ABET
- Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB)
- American Council for Construction Education (ACCE)
- Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND)
- American Chemical Society (Committee on Professional Training)
- Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP)
- Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)
- Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission of ABET
- National Association of Schools of Music (NASM)
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