NWCCU Policy Updates for US Dept of Education Compliance

Detected March 14th, 2026

Summary

The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) has updated five policies to align with the U.S. Department of Education's Accreditation Handbook. These revisions clarify existing expectations and adjust administrative procedures for member institutions.

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What changed

The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) has updated five key policies: Accreditation Criteria, Accreditation Liaison Officer, Administrative Procedures for Institutional Visits and Board of Commissioner Meetings, Arbitration, and Related Entities. These updates aim to reflect current NWCCU practices and ensure compliance with the U.S. Department of Education's Accreditation Handbook. While most changes are minor clarifications or reflect intended practice, the Accreditation Liaison Officer policy adds specific responsibilities for ALOs regarding confidential communications and programmatic changes, requiring institutions to review ALO roles. Administrative procedures have adjusted notification and report submission timelines to four months and six to eight weeks, respectively, though these changes do not alter current agency or institutional practices.

Institutions, particularly their Accreditation Liaison Officers, should review the updated policies to ensure alignment with the revised responsibilities and timelines. The primary impact is on clarifying expectations and ensuring that ALOs are adequately positioned to handle accreditation matters. While no new substantive obligations are introduced, institutions must ensure their internal processes and the roles of their ALOs reflect these updated policy requirements. Further information will be provided to institutional ALOs during a town hall on July 23, 2025.

What to do next

Review updated NWCCU policies for Accreditation Criteria, ALO, Administrative Procedures, Arbitration, and Related Entities.
Ensure Accreditation Liaison Officers' roles and responsibilities align with updated policy requirements, particularly regarding communication and access to information.
Verify institutional reporting timelines align with the revised six and eight-week submission periods.

Source document (simplified)

Ed Harri, Staff Representative to Bylaws, Standards, and Policies Committee, NWCCU

The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) has updated five policies to reflect NWCCU’s practice and its compliance with the U.S. Department of Education’s Accreditation Handbook. Information on these revisions will be provided to the institutional Accreditation Liaison Officers (ALO) during the Townhall conversation on July 23, 2025.

The revised documents are linked below with a summary of changes to each and the impact on NWCCU member institutions.

Accreditation Criteria Policy

Reason for review and revision: Regular review. Last revised in December 2020. ****

Summary of changes:

Added a sentence at the beginning that says, Member or Candidate institutions must commit to following these Processes and Procedures, NWCCU Standards and ERs, and NWCCU Policies as a condition of accreditation.
In the section on international institutions, added “also” to ensure that these conditions are in addition to the requirements in the opening paragraph that apply to all NWCCU Member and Candidate institutions. Impact of changes: None. These requirements already exist, but this clarifies the expectations in this policy.

Accreditation Liaison Officer Policy

Reason for review and revision : Regular review. Last reviewed and updated in June 2020.

Summary of changes:

In the selection of ALO section, added: (1) Role commensurate with confidential communications regarding the institution and (2) Access to programmatic changes at the institution and other substantive change matters.
Added a primary duty of communicating matters of importance, particularly related to accreditation at the institution. Impact of changes: Institutions must review the responsibilities to ensure that the ALO at the institution is involved in matters of importance for accreditation at the institution in order to effectively conduct the ALO’s primary duties.

Administrative Procedures for Institutional Visits and Board of Commissioner Meetings Policy

Reason for review and revision: Adjusting reporting and communication dates to reflect current NWCCU practice and make critical notification and report dates predictable for institutions. Last reviewed March 2023.

Summary of changes:

The institutional notification for upcoming evaluation by NWCCU was changed from 120 calendar days to four (4) months.
The 45 or 60-day timeline for report submission by institutions, depending on report type, was changed to six (6) and eight (8) weeks, respectively. Impact of changes: No change to current agency or institutional practice; updated policy language accurately reflects other agency communications with institutions.

Arbitration Policy

Reason for review and revision: Making minor changes to reflect updates with arbitration practices. Last reviewed and revised in 2024.

Summary of changes:

Specifies the arbitrator is the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (JAMS) representative. Impact of changes: None. Reflects intended practice.

Related Entities Policy

Reason for review and revision: Regular review. Last reviewed in June 2019.

Summary of changes:

Clarified throughout the document the references to the NWCCU Candidate or Member Institution and Related Entities.
Added language requiring notification to NWCCU upon any material change in the relationship between the Institution and the Related Entity.
Added language recommending participation by a representative of the Related Entity during a comprehensive accreditation visit.
Removed the Exhibit with the Certification example because these cases are each unique and the Certification example did not necessarily provide the required specific information in the event NWCCU requested confirmation of the relationship with the Related Entity. Impact of changes: None, other than the recommended participation of a Related Entity representative during comprehensive accreditation visits.

NWCCU Bylaws

(updated version to be posted soon)

Reason for review and revision: To address the following:

Clarify Commissioner officer roles and term lengths.
Clarify replacement processes for Chair and Vice Chair roles, in the event those positions are vacated prior to the end of the term.
Clarify items that may be addressed by the Executive Committee of the Commission on behalf of the Commission between regular or special meetings.
Clarify composition of the Executive Committee of the Commission resulting from changes to officer positions.
Summary of changes:
Removed Immediate Past Chair role from the Commission. Chair and Vice Chair remain as two-year terms with automatic succession from the Vice Chair to Chair role.
Changed references to January and June Commission meetings to Winter and Summer.
Clarified that the Executive Committee could act on behalf of the Commission to confirm the appointment of officers or committee members made by the Chair.
Clarified that the Vice Chair automatically becomes Chair if the Chair vacates their role prior to the end of their two-year term. A subsequent vacancy in the Vice Chair role would be filled by the processes described in the Bylaws.
Changed the composition of the Executive Committee to include the Chair; Vice Chair; Secretary; Treasurer; Chair of Nominations Committee; Chair of Audit Committee; and Chair of Bylaws, Standards, and Policies Committee. This composition must still represent both academic and administrative ranks and at least one member shall be a public representative.