Accreditation

UA universities receive their institutional accreditation from the . All three universities (including community campuses) are fully accredited.

What is accreditation?

  • Status a recognized accrediting agency grants to an institution or educational program
  • Institution or program meets the agencies qualifying requirements and accreditation criteria
  • Process involves initial and periodic self-evaluation followed by an evaluation by peers
  • Awarded by a non-governmental agency recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education
  • Provides a professional judgment regarding the quality of the educational institution or program offered and to encourage continual institutional improvement

Types of Accreditation

  • Regional – institutions within a prescribed geographic region (UAA, UAF, UAS)
  • National - institutions that are single purpose in nature (does not apply to UA)
  • Program/Specialized – unit (school, department, program or curriculum) within an institution
  • The Board of Regents Academic and Student Affairs Committee receives an update from each èßäÉçÇø¹ÙÍø at its quarterly meeting and the Board receives an annual written report on accreditation status in September

Institutional Accreditation from the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)

  • UAA, UAF and UAS are all in good standing
  • Seven year review cycle. 
  • UAA:  Site visit and evaluation in 2018, Accreditation reaffirmed in January 2019. Next site visit 2025.
  • UAS: Site visit and Accreditation reaffirmed in 2019. Next site visit in 2026.
  • UAF: Site visit and evaluation in September 2020 (postponed from 2019). Accreditation reaffirmation expected in 2021.

Program and Specialized Accreditation

  • UA has more than 60 program/specialized accreditations across the system
  • Examples of accrediting organizations:
    • Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET)
    • Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
    • Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP)
    • Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN)


An Assessment of Single Accreditation verses Three Separate Accreditations
/files/research/Accreditation/UA-1vs3-Accreditation-Review-Final-Report-15_D.Thomas.pdf