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Cal Poly WASC Accreditation Process

Introduction

Every ten years, Cal Poly has an opportunity to reaffirm its accreditation status with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), a non-governmental regional accrediting organization. WASC accreditation is important because it allows our institution to demonstrate to the public and the educational community that our programs meet or exceed accepted standards of quality. It also keeps us eligible for federal funds that support a variety of programs, including student financial aid. The WASC reaffirmation process does not simply check whether or not we are in compliance with a set of specified standards, but instead involves an institutional self-study that provides us with an opportunity to work together to improve the university. As we move through this process we encourage and input from the campus community.

Process Overview

The entire review process is tied to our recently revised institutional mission and new university learning objectives. The process began with the development of a self-study proposal, approved in December 2007, that set the stage for two major evaluation phases, both of which include site visits by a team of peer reviewers: the Capacity and Preparatory Review (CPR), culminating February 10-12, 2010, and the Educational Effectiveness Review (EER), culminating in fall 2011. During the self-study, WASC asks us to consider such questions as: Where are we now? Where are we going? How are we going to get there? How do we know we are doing a good job? and What evidence do we have to support our judgment? For more information on the process, visit our FAQ page.

Where we are now

We are currently in the midst of the CPR phase of the self-study. A steering committee oversees the self-study as a whole. Broadly representative working groups, one for each theme, have been meeting since Spring 2008. Their work will result in a set of four essays that will be available for campus comment in early October and will be the heart of the self-study report due to WASC December 1, 2009.