NWCCU Standards Review and Revision Process Update

Detected March 14th, 2026

Summary

The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) has provided an update on its ongoing review and revision process for its standards and eligibility requirements. The commission has completed the initial survey phase and is preparing to draft revisions for stakeholder feedback.

View original document View source feed page

What changed

The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) has issued an update regarding its mandatory eight-year review and revision process for its Standards and Eligibility Requirements. The commission has completed the initial survey phase, which included input from institutional Accreditation Liaison Officers (ALOs), CEOs, and peer evaluators. Executive summaries of these survey responses are now available, with more detailed results forthcoming.

The next steps involve the development of an initial draft of the revised standards, which will be shared with the BSP Committee. Following this, extensive opportunities for stakeholder feedback will be provided, commencing with the 2025 NWCCU Annual Conference. Institutions can provide feedback through their institutional staff liaison or a dedicated public comment form. This process is part of NWCCU's commitment to transparency and stakeholder engagement in updating its accreditation criteria.

What to do next

Review executive summaries of institutional and peer evaluator responses.
Monitor the standards revision webpage for upcoming draft revisions and feedback opportunities.
Provide feedback through designated channels as the revision process progresses.

Source document (simplified)

By NWCCU Policy, Standards and Eligibility Requirements are reviewed at least every eight years. With the guidance of the Bylaws, Standards, and Policies (BSP) Committee of the Commission, this process launched this spring with two surveys: (1) an institutional survey sent to Accreditation Liaison Officers (ALOs) and CEOs; and (2) a peer evaluator survey.

Each survey provided valuable insights that were constructive and insightful. Executive summaries of the responses can be found at these links. More detailed survey results are coming soon.

Executive Summary of Institutional Responses
Executive Summary of Peer Evaluator Responses To keep stakeholders informed, we have a standards revision webpage with goals, timelines, activities, and summaries of completed steps available.

Next steps include an initial draft of the revisions to be developed and shared with the BSP in preparation for extensive opportunities for feedback from stakeholders beginning with the 2025 NWCCU Annual Conference.

At any point in the process if you have questions or wish to provide feedback, please do so through your institutional staff liaison, Executive Vice President Ed Harri (eharri@nwccu.org), or through the Standards Review Public Comment form.