Institutional Accreditation

NWCCU or Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities: an accreditor of higher education recognized by the Department of Education to accredit colleges and universities throughout the U.S. The commission also accredits institutions in British Columbia. Its decision-making body consists of up to twenty-six Commissioners who represent the public and the diversity of its accredited higher education institutions.” (NWCCU website) The commissioners are volunteers who serve three-year terms. The commission’s work is conducted by its staff, including its president Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy and the commission’s liaison to Great Falls College is Dr. Mac Powell. The commission is based in Redmond, WA. Recommendations: Formal directives the college needs to address to fully comply with the accreditation standards. These are typically written by a peer evaluation team after reviewing a self-evaluation report and/or following a site visit. Self-evaluation Report – Year 7 Evaluation of Institutional Effectiveness (also called Year 7 report): Self-evaluation report written by the college in response to NWCCU Standard One and submitted for review by a peer evaluation team and the NWCCU commission. Self-evaluation Report – Year 6 Policies, Regulations and Financial Review: Self-evaluation report written by the college in response to NWCCU Standard Two. Standards: Conditions colleges and universities must meet to qualify for accreditation by the NWCCU. The commission has two main standards, each of which has subparts. Student Learning Outcomes Assessment: Great Falls College has College Learning Outcomes, Program Learning Outcomes and Course Learning Outcomes. Faculty assess course learning outcomes, which are mapped to program and college learning outcomes in annual reviews. Details about assessment are on the Assessment website.