Accreditation Committee Praises CGU’s ‘Strong Sense of Community, Collaboration and Collegiality’

As a vote of confidence in CGU’s commitment to excellence, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) has reaffirmed its accreditation of the university for eight years, which is up from the typical cycle of six years.

The good news was delivered by WASC earlier this month and announced this week in a message from President Len Jessup to the entire university community.

WASC is one of the principal educational accreditation organizations in the U.S. and has a goal of assessing the missions, standards, and practices of some 5,200 institutions across the country. WASC provides third-party validation of an institutions programming and effectiveness and is a crucial part of the academic profile of any school.

“The accreditation commission noted several positive actions happening at CGU,” Jessup’s message said. “I am most proud of the first commendation for our strong sense of community, collaboration and collegiality among the faculty, staff, and students. This is a hallmark of CGU and is apparent to all who visit our campus.”

The next WASC review will take place in 2029 (offsite) with an in-person visit to campus in the spring of 2030, Jessup’s message said.

Other commendations cited by WASC in its review included administration transparency and accessibility, infrastructure to enhance retention and student success, as well as significant progress on advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

“Our growing focus on data-driven decision making and the restructured advancement function in support of annual and capital gifts were also noted by the committee,” Jessup said in his message.

WASC also provided the university with six action items, including: to educate more of the campus about CGU”s business model, build on the current DEI strategy, continue targeted student retention initiatives, continue conducing regular assessments of academic programs, evaluate the decennial program’s effectiveness, and fully align resources with the university’s “Connected Campus” focus (which resulted from changes made during the pandemic).

Jessup said most of these action items were already in progress before WASC made its recommendation. He also thanked Jody Waters in the university’s Office of Institutional Effectiveness for leading the “data collection, document production, and coordination” that WASC reviews require.