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UCR Reaccreditation by Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)
The UCR campus has been accredited since 1956; reaccreditation occurs approximately every ten years. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), UCR's regional accrediting organization, has completely redesigned its reaccreditation process to focus on student learning and efforts at institutional improvement that are based on meaningful and comprehensive data and analyses. A key element of the WASC reaccreditation effort is to establish explicit links between campus strategic planning efforts and student learning on the campus. This culture of evidence assists the campus in establishing and improving the excellence of its programs, its students, and its research and learning environment.
UCR proposed and was approved to study three major themes: (1) Learning within a Campus Culture of Diversity, (2) Growing and Improving Graduate and Professional Programs, and (3) Improving Undergraduate Student Engagement, Experience, and Learning Outcomes (see Proposal for Accreditation on the left).
The process of accreditation has two phases, the Institutional Capacity phase and the Educational Effectiveness phase. The first phase involves demonstrating that UCR has well-defined goals and objectives and the resources, policies and procedures, commitment, and experience necessary to achieve these goals. These issues were addressed in the Preparatory Review Report submitted to WASC by UCR on December 20, 2007 (see Preparatory Review Report on the left). WASC sent a team of experts to the UCR campus March 12-14, 2008, to follow up on that report. The team met with many campus individuals and groups to determine the degree to which UCR has defined its educational objectives and has the capacity to achieve those objectives. For the written report of the team, see Visiting Team Capacity Report.
The second phase is the Educational Effectiveness phase, in which UCR will present the results of its investigation of the three themes above and address any questions that arose during the Institutional Capacity phase. A formal report on the Educational Effectiveness phase will be submitted to WASC by July 15, 2009. It wil be followed by a visit to the campus of a team of experts October 28-30, 2009, to follow up that report.
David Fairris, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, is UCR's Accreditation Liaison Officer, the official representative of the campus to WASC. Robert Gill is serving as the campus' special consultant responsible for coordinating the reaccreditation process. Both can be reached via e-mail at WASC@ucr.edu or by telephone at 951-827-7750. Key information can be found in the menu on the left.