Campus News
Following rigorous review, WASC reaffirms UC Santa Cruz accreditation
Being accredited means UC Santa Cruz has met rigorous standards for quality, capacity, and effectiveness.
Recognizing academic excellence, the WASC Senior College and University Commission has reaffirmed UC Santa Cruz’s accreditation for the next 10 years.
The campus has maintained full WASC accreditation since its founding in 1965. Being accredited means UC Santa Cruz has met rigorous standards for quality, capacity, and effectiveness. The designation confers a variety of benefits, including access to federal financial aid resources for students.
“These accreditation reviews are not a moment, but a journey of academic excellence and I am very proud of the work we have done and continue to do at UC Santa Cruz,” Chancellor Cindy Larive said.
Larive said she deeply appreciates everyone who contributed to the campus’s self-study and for taking the time to meet with the review team from WASC. The effort was supported by Herbie Lee as Accreditation Liaison Officer, Academic Affairs staff Andrea Cohen and Sarah Kudela, the Assessment for Learning Excellence and Equity Center, the Teaching and Learning Center, Institutional Research, Analysis, and Planning Support, and faculty and academic staff across campus.
“WASC has recognized our substantial efforts to improve student learning and student success, and our attention to equitable outcomes and experiential learning opportunities,” said Herbie Lee, now Interim Dean of Social Sciences. “The review appreciated the work that faculty are doing for student success, especially the work in assessment of student learning outcomes and using the results of that assessment to further improve student learning.”
The WASC Commission commended UC Santa Cruz for:
- Growth in the university’s research profile, impact, and funding.
- A clear and distinctive mission demonstrated by the strategic plan which includes new student housing to preserve the unique undergraduate experience and grow undergraduate enrollment.
- Expanded collection and use of data to inform planning, budgeting, and decision making. Further plans for improvement such as modernization of the data warehouse and adoption of new tools to encourage more data analysis and use by units across campus.
- Sound financial modeling and framework for budgeting, with recognition of the need to address current financial challenges.
- Implementation of a comprehensive and data-based initiative to enhance and measure student success, including learning, persistence, retention, completion, and post-graduation outcomes. Strong support for student success.
- Thorough and robust processes for the assessment of student learning at the undergraduate level with strong structures for training, support and guidance.
As a regular part of the review, the commission provides areas for development. Larive said the areas align well with current efforts and plans to reinforce the campus’s mission. The areas of focus are:
- Accelerate implementation of assessment of student learning at the graduate level.
- Consider ways to meet the intended purposes and opportunities of the Silicon Valley Campus.
- Continue with consultative implementation of the multi-year plan to stabilize finances.
- Evaluate General Education and revise and update the model in keeping with findings.
- Support undergraduate research and experiential learning through coordination and enhanced data collection and analysis.
The next WASC accreditation visit is scheduled for fall 2035 and an interim report from the campus is due in fall 2029.