About WSCUC Accreditation
The University of Hawai‘i–West O‘ahu is committed to continuous improvement in all areas of the campus and demonstrates this commitment by our engagement in the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) accreditation process. UH West O‘ahu is fully accredited by WSCUC, our institutional accreditation agency. The University was granted initial accreditation in February 1981 by what was then known as WASC, and has been reaccredited in all subsequent reviews.
The WSCUC accreditation process aids institutions in developing and sustaining effective educational programs and assures the educational community, the general public, and other organizations that an accredited institution has met high standards of quality and effectiveness.
On July 11, 2022, the Commission announced that it reaffirmed UH West Oʻahu’s accreditation for eight years in its Commission Action Letter.
WSCUC Core Competencies
In the 2013 WSCUC Handbook of Accreditation, Criteria for Review 2.2a states: Baccalaureate programs engage students in an integrated course of study of sufficient breadth and depth to prepare them for work, citizenship, and life-long learning. These programs ensure the development of core competencies including, but not limited to, written and oral communication, quantitative reasoning, information literacy, and critical thinking.
Now, at a time when there is widespread concern about the quality of graduates’ learning, and when assessment practices have emerged that are able to address these outcomes in nuanced ways, the Commission is asking for documentation of actual achievement. While CFR 2.2a mentions additional outcomes beyond the five core competencies – e.g., creativity, appreciation for diversity, and civic engagement – these five outcomes, in particular, have been deemed generic, fundamental to students’ future success, and assessable.