Accreditation

Accreditation is a status granted to an institution that meets or exceeds specific criteria of educational quality as defined by the accrediting agency. The purposes of the accreditation process are to engage peers within the higher education community to assess and suggest enhancements of the educational quality of an institution, to assure consistency in institutional operations, to promote institutional improvement and to provide for public accountability and transparency.
 
Accreditation is a deliberate, thorough and voluntary process. Accrediting agencies assess compliance with their published academic and administrative standards and look for a continuous commitment to striving for excellence by the institutions they accredit.
 
For students and parents, accreditation serves as an indicator that an institution is committed to delivering a quality education by providing an external and objective endorsement of instructional quality.

Institutional Accreditation

West Coast University is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

985 Atlantic Avenue, #100
Alameda, California 94501
510-748-9001

West Coast University is a university accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) to award bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools is listed as a nationally recognized accrediting agency by the United States Department of Education and is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).
 
Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS)
750 First Street, NE, Suite 980
Washington, DC 20002-4223
Phone: (202) 336-6780
Toll free: (866) 510-0746
Fax: (202) 842-2593
Email: info@acics.org
www.acics.org

Board of Registered Nursing Approval

West Coast University's BSN programs are approved in California through the Board of Registered Nursing located at:
 
1625 North Market Boulevard, Suite N217
Sacramento, CA 95834-1924
(916) 322-3350
(916) 322-1700 (TDD)
www.rn.ca.gov

Programmatic Accreditation

Bachelor of Science in Nursing
The Baccalaureate Degree Program in Nursing is programmatically accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).
 
Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
One Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 530
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 887-6791
Fax: (202) 887-8476
www.aacn.nche.edu/CCNE/reports/accprog.asp
 
Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene
The Dental Hygiene program is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA).  The Commission is a specialized accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education. The Commission on Dental Accreditation can be contacted at (312) 440-4653 or at:
 
Commission on Dental Accreditation
211 East Chicago Avenue
Chicago, IL  60611
(312) 440-2500
http://www.ada.org/117.aspx

FAQ

What is Transferability of Credit?
In short, transferability of credit is the willingness of one learning institution to accept a student’s completed coursework from another institution. Unless the institution from which the student earned the credits maintains a written agreement with the new institution wherein they agree to accept the credits (commonly known as an articulation agreement), no college or university can guarantee that another institution will accept transfer credits. The receiving institution always makes the decision, and the rules, surrounding its acceptance of transfer credits.
 
What are things that Universities review to determine acceptability of transfer credits?
Common factors used in determining acceptability of transfer credits are: course name, course description, course learning outcomes, course credits earned, faculty credentials, a student’s earned grade in the course, how long it has been since the student earned the grade and the accreditation of the institution from which the credits were earned.
 
What is Accreditation and why does it matter?
The purpose of accreditation is to validate that an institution or program is doing what it says it is doing and that the institution is operating within the scope and standards of the accrediting body. In many respects, accreditation is a quality assurance program wherein professionals from outside of the institution review the university based upon the standards of the accrediting body.
 
There are two types of academic accreditation, as recognized by the United States Department of Education: Institutional and Programmatic. Institutional accreditation reviews and approves entire colleges or universities. There are two types of institutional accreditation: regional and national. Regional accreditation, as the name implies, is geographically specific. California falls within the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) regional accrediting body. Historically, regional bodies accredited traditional public and private universities. National accreditation bodies accredit institutions, regardless of their geographic location. National accrediting bodies also tend to focus on institutions that are more career-focused.
 
Programmatic accreditation refers to specialized accreditation based on specific programs of study. Commonly known bodies include the American Bar Association (ABA), the American Psychological Association (APA), the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). These bodies have no oversight or authority over institutions – they simply have oversight for specific programs of study.
 
Not all institutions are accredited. Accreditation is voluntary. However, only institutions accredited by accrediting bodies recognized by the United States Department of Education (such as West Coast University) are allowed to participate in Title IV financial aid programs.

While an accredited institution may have multiple programmatic accreditations, they typically have only one institutional accreditation – regional or national. West Coast University is a university accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) to award Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. Additionally, WCU’s Bachelor in Nursing program is accredited by CCNE and its Dental Hygiene program is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA).
 
How does Accreditation affect transferability of credits?
In that regionally accredited institutions are largely comprised of traditional academic institutions, one regionally accredited university is more likely to accept credits from another regionally accredited institution. While this is not always the case, transfer from regional to regional increases the likelihood of the credits being accepted at the new institution. And, students desiring to transfer credits or degrees from a nationally accredited institution to another nationally accredited institution, also experience a higher probability of success.
 
However, unless a nationally accredited institution has a written agreement with a regionally accredited university (known as an articulation agreement), it is unlikely that the regionally accredited institution will accept the student’s transfer credits or degree. To demonstrate this point, a national study showed that only 14% of regionally accredited institutions accepted credits from nationally accredited institutions.* So while it is not common for regionally accredited institutions to accept the credits of students who have attended nationally accredited institutions, exceptions are made.
 
How can I increase the probability that a regionally accredited university will accept my credits from a nationally accredited institution?
In order for a student to increase their chances for success in transferring credits, the student needs to make sure they retain course descriptions, syllabi, textbooks and assignments. On a course by course basis, students can request evaluation of their completed coursework. Students must understand that the Admissions Departments at most universities will typically only give them the answer that is within their catalog regarding transferability.
 
In order to achieve exceptions, students usually must appeal to department chairs of the programs they are interested in pursuing in order to have their academic portfolios assessed.
 
If a student seeks to transfer a bachelor’s degree into a graduate program that only accepts degrees from regionally accredited institutions, the student should consider meeting with the department Dean or Chair at the desired institution, explain the circumstances and present portfolios of work. Graduate level program acceptance occurs not solely through Admissions, but through faculty committees and processes. In cases where students are applying for enrollment into a graduate program that builds on the bachelor's degree, programmatic accreditation is increasingly valuable (e.g., Bachelor of Science in Nursing to Master of Science in Nursing). And, where the institution from which a student has graduated shares the identical accreditation to the target graduate institution, probability of acceptance increases.
 
Although there are ways to improve the chances that credits or degrees will transfer, it is always up to the receiving institution, and it is unlikely that such transfer will occur between WCU and other colleges and universities.

NOTICE CONCERNING TRANSFERABILITY OF CREDITS AND CREDENTIALS EARNED AT WEST COAST UNIVERSITY

The transferability of credits you earn at West Coast University is at the complete discretion of an institution to which you may seek to transfer. Acceptance of the degree you earn in your educational program is also at the complete discretion of the institution to which you may seek to transfer. If the credits or degree that you earn at this institution are not accepted at the institution to which you seek to transfer, you may be required to repeat some or all of your coursework at that institution.  For this reason you should make certain that your attendance at this institution will meet your educational goals. This may include contacting an institution to which you may seek to transfer after attending West Coast University to determine if your credits, degree, diploma or certificate will transfer.

West Coast University has no articulation agreements.

*2006 study by the University Continuing Education Association, Washington D.C.