Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
NWCCU logo
NWCCU operational area
Abbreviation	NWCCU
Formation	1917
Legal status	Association
Purpose/focus	Educational accreditation
Headquarters	Redmond, Washington
Region served	Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington
Membership	163 institutions
President	Dr. Sandra E. Elman
Main organ	Board of Commissioners
Affiliations	CHEA
Website	www.nwccu.org

The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) is an independent, non-profit membership organization recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) as the regional authority on educational quality and institutional effectiveness of higher education institutions in the seven-state Northwest region of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. It fulfills its mission by establishing accreditation criteria and evaluation procedures by which institutions are reviewed.

The Commission oversees regional accreditation for 156 institutions. Its decision-making body consists of twenty-six Commissioners who represent the public and the diversity of higher education institutions within the Northwest region.

The organization traces its history to 1917 when the Northwest Association of Secondary and Higher Schools was formed. In 1974 the association changed its name to the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges. In 2000 it became the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges and Universities, which disbanded and split into two separate organizations in 2004, with the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities handling the accreditation of institutions of higher education and the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools handling the accreditation of primary and secondary schools.^[1]

[edit] See also

• School accreditation
• Regional accreditation
• United States Department of Education
• Council for Higher Education Accreditation
• List of recognized accreditation associations of higher learning

[edit] Notes

1. ^ History of the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools and Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities History, accessed February 5, 2007.

[edit] External links

• Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities Official website

v • d • e Regional accrediting bodies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education Middle States Asssociation of Schools and Colleges · New England Association of Schools and Colleges · North Central Association of Colleges and Schools · Northwest Association of Accredited Schools · Northwest Commissions on Colleges and Universities · Southern Association of Colleges and Schools · Western Association of Schools and Colleges

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