The Office of the Provost oversees all accreditation and assessment activities across WashU.
WashU has been accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) since 1913. The HLC is an institutional accreditor recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to accredit degree-granting colleges and universities. The HLC assesses the institution as a whole, including the soundness of its governance and administration, adherence to mission, the sustainability of its finances, and the sufficiency of its resources.
WashU participates in the HLC’s Open Pathway accreditation process. This process features a ten-year cycle which focuses on both assurance and improvement. Our current 10-year cycle takes place between 2015 and 2025. There are Assurance Reviews in Years 4 and 10. Between Years 5 and 9 of the ten-year cycle, Washington University will propose and complete a Quality Initiative. In year 10, Washington University will undergo a comprehensive evaluation. Components of the 2024 comprehensive evaluation can be found here.
In addition to the university-wide accreditation, each of Washington University’s professional schools are accredited by their school’s professional organization.
WashU is authorized to deliver postsecondary education in Missouri as required under federal Title IV regulations as an independent institution by the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development.
In addition, WashU’s undergraduate and graduate level teacher certification programs are accredited by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and are authorized to offer coursework and to recommend candidates for certification in the following content areas: Elementary Education (Grades 1-6), Middle School Education (Grades 5-9) in Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Science, Secondary Education (Grades 9-12) in Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, English, Mathematics, Physics, and Social Science, Grades K-12 for Art, Dance, and World Languages (Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Latin, Russian, and Spanish), as well as our Master of Science degree program in Deaf Education through the PACS Program in the School of Medicine for students interested in pursuing special education certification to teach children with hearing impairments. The Missouri State Board of Education accredits educator preparation programs based on recognition of the commitment that faculty and staff have to the children of Missouri and upon data generated by the Annual Performance Reports for Educator Preparation Programs (APR-EPP).
About Assessment
Assessment of student learning and assessment of student activities represent a vital part of WashU’s periodic institutional accreditation mandated by the HLC.
The University Assessment Committee is charged to support academic and co-curricular units in the assessment of student learning by (a) developing shared expectations, processes, and procedures in consultation and collaboration with the units involved and (b) providing constructive feedback to those units and their leadership to help assessment processes better support decisions affecting the quality of the students’ educational experience.
This involves:
- Implementing the university’s policy requiring assessment in in all curricular programs that result in a degree or certificate and in those co-curricular programs that complement curricular learning outcomes.
- Defining and maintaining minimum university standards for the necessary components of assessment practice,
- Establishing the scope of assessment expectations (i.e., which co-curricular programs or activities must participate)
- Collecting and provide constructive feedback on unit level assessment reports
- Reporting to the Provost and the Deans on the state of assessment, with particular attention to the utilization of assessment in unit-level planning and budgeting
- Supporting units in establishing or improving assessment practices by:
- Building a robust repository of best practices, models, and templates for institutional use
- Providing individual consultations with units as needed
- Curating programmatic learning goals and connecting programs with similar learning goals towards streamlining assessment
Accreditation Contacts
Jennifer Smith, Vice Provost for Educational Initiatives
Jill Edwards, Senior Project Manager, University Accreditation
Heidi Kolk, Assistant Vice Provost for Assessment
Mark Valenzuela, Project Manager, Academic Compliance and Accreditation