Draft - Revised Eligibility Requirements (Word)

In January 2010 following the vote of the membership, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities approved a new set of Standards for Accreditation and a new accreditation process. The revised Standards for Accreditation and the seven-year accreditation cycle will be implemented for all accredited institutions in January 2011.

Following the formulation of the new standards and a new accreditation cycle, the Commission undertook a process of revising a new set of Eligibility Requirements (ERs). Eligibility Requirements articulate an expected level of performance or set of pre-conditions that must be met when evaluating an institution's Application for Consideration for Candidacy, the granting or continuing of Candidacy, granting Initial Accreditation, or reaffirming accreditation.

The proposed new Eligibility Requirements include modification of the Eligibility Requirements enumerated on pages 5-8 of the Accreditation Handbook, 2003 edition, and several new ERs developed to align and complement the new accreditation standards.

Applicant and candidate institutions will be evaluated on all twenty four proposed Eligibility Requirements as part of their respective Applications for Consideration for Candidacy, Evaluations for Candidacy, Interim Candidacy Evaluations and Evaluations for Initial Accreditation. Accredited institutions will be evaluated on the proposed ERs in the following way in accordance with the new seven-year accreditation cycle. In the Year One Report, institutions will address ER 2 Operational Status, and ER 3 Mission and Core Themes. In the Year Three Report institutions will address ER 4 Operational Focus and Independence; ER 5 Nondiscrimination; ER 6 Institutional Integrity; ER 7 Governing Board; ER 8 Chief Executive Officer; ER 9 Administration; ER 10 Faculty; ER 11 Educational Program; ER 12 General Education and Related Instruction; ER 13 Library and Information Resources; ER 14 Physical and Technical Infrastructure; ER 15 Academic Freedom; ER 16 Admissions; ER 17 Public Information; ER 18 Financial Resources; ER 19 Financial Accountability; ER 20 Disclosure; and ER 21 Relationship with the Accreditation Commission. In the Year Five Report, the institution will address ER 22 Student Achievement and ER 23 Institutional Effectiveness. And, lastly, in the Year Seven Report, the institution will address ER 24 Scale and Sustainability. It is assumed that accredited institutions have met ER 1 Operational Status.

The final version of the Eligibility Requirements and a ballot will be sent to the membership in late March 2010.