Commission on Schools
Oregon's State Accreditation Committee

Our Mission

"To advance excellence in education through the process of Accreditation"

Accreditation promotes continual school improvement leading to greater student achievement. The Northwest Accreditation Commission, formerly the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools, accredits distance education, elementary, foreign nation, high, K-12, middle level, post-secondary non-degree granting, residential, special purpose, supplementary education and travel education schools.

The Northwest Accreditation Commission is one of the nation's six acknowledged accreditation agencies. The geographic territory of the Commission consists of the states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington and other worldwide geographical areas designated from time to time by the Board of Trustees.

News Update/Announcement

We are pleased to share that the Board of Trustees and Commission of the Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC) approved bylaws that established NWAC as an accreditation division of AdvancED, expanding our capacity and resources to deliver accreditation and school improvement services to you.

With our shared mission to improve the quality of education around the world, by joining with the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI) under the parent organization AdvancED, we not only build on this tradition, but also our support for schools and school systems that are committed to continuous improvement.

NWAC by joining with AdvancED, becomes part of a world-wide network serving nearly 30,000 public and private schools and districts in over 70 countries.  Through this global network, educational providers of all types benefit from:       

• international recognition;

• shared standards of educational excellence;

• a unified, clear and powerful accreditation process; and

• external evaluation focused on continuous improvement.

Additionally, all schools in the AdvancED network, including NWAC schools, will have access to the Adaptive System of School Improvement Support Tools (ASSIST), a state-of-the-art, web-enabled platform for accreditation and school improvement.

We will continue to accredit under the NWAC name so that your school maintains the brand recognition in our region, while gaining access to a broader network of schools and greater resources.  NWAC schools scheduled for an External Review in 2012-13 will work with their state office here in Oregon to determine their readiness to use the new AdvancED Standards or if the school should prepare for the visit based on the old NWAC Standards.  Beginning in the 2013-14 school year, all NWAC schools (except for Third Party Agreements) will be using the new Standards as part of the AdvancED Accreditation Process.  Schools that are accredited through a Third Party agreement with NWAC will continue to honor the agreement.  More details regarding the AdvancED Accreditation Process will be available in the coming months.

We are excited about the opportunity that joining AdvancED offers to benefit schools systems, schools, and ultimately students through our shared commitment to education quality.  We look forward to sharing more with you over the course of the coming school year.

What does accreditation mean?

When the Accreditation Commission accredits a school, it is certifying that the school has met the prescribed quantitative and qualitative standards of the Commission, within the terms of the school's own stated mission and beliefs. It is also certifying that the school has undergone a self-study and validation by an outside team of peers, upon application for membership, and once every six years thereafter. Each member school must also be involved in a continual school improvement process (SIP) that must be reported as part of the school's site visit conducted every six-years.

In addition to the intrinsic benefits that the school receives, the public also obtains the following assurances:

• Regional Accreditation assures transferability of credits among other regionally accredited schools.
• Citizens are assured of accountability and value for their tax dollars in light of the fact that their school is meeting regional standards.
• The community in general is more attractive to prospective incoming families and businesses when it can be reported that its schools are accredited.
• Accreditation assures the public that an outgoing process of evaluation will be a permanent feature of school improvement practices.
• Through school, the public can receive information regularly on the extent to which their school is meeting standards.
• Accreditation provides general justification for public confidence in a member school. It does not affirm that the school is perfect in all aspects, but it does promise that the school has the resources, leadership and vitality needed for ongoing improvement.
• Accreditation gives evidence to its public that the school is meeting expectations and fulfilling standards that transcend local and state requirements.
• Accreditation assures that other schools, colleges and universities will accept student credits.

   

  You may download the new NWAC logo here.

How to Find Us:

Click here for a map to COSA
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How to Contact Us:

Tryna Luton, State Chair (Oregon)
Oregon Dept of Education
255 Capitol Street NE
Salem, Oregon  97310-0203
(503) 947-5922
tryna.luton@state.or.us

Lee Loving, Advisory Committee Chair

Ridgeview High School
145 SE Salmon Avenue
Redmond, OR  97756-8422
(541)-923-5437   FAX: (541)-923-5142
lee.loving@redmond.k12.or.us

Dick Darst, Oregon State Director
Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC)
C/O: COSA
707 13th St. SE, Suite 100
Salem, OR  97301-4035

(541) 729-1705   FAX: (503) 581-9840
 dickdarst@comcast.net

Doug Potter, Regional Consultant

General Information:
Donna Coutts, Secretary
Northwest Accreditation Commission (NWAC)
C/O: COSA
707 13th St. SE, Suite 100
Salem, OR  97301-4035
(503) 480-7210     FAX: (503) 334-1274
donnac@cosa.k12.or.us

Questions regarding membership may be made directly to Dick Darst, Northwest Accreditation Commission, Oregon State Director, at

541-729-1705 or dickdarst@comcast.net or to Donna Coutts at donnac@cosa.k12.or.us.

Send mail to donnac@cosa.k12.or.us  with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: February 07, 2012