The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Senior College and University Commission reaffirmed accreditation for the University of Hawai‘i – West O‘ahu for the next seven years and removed the Notice of Concern status, as communicated in a letter dated March 6.
“Our faculty, staff and students have worked hard to create a student-centered environment at the University and a culture of assessment and continual improvement. We look forward to continuing to offer our students the high quality educational experience they deserve here at UH West Oʻahu,” said UH West Oʻahu Chancellor, Rockne Freitas. “It was truly a collaborative effort by the entire University to address the commission’s recommendation.”
“WASC found that UH West Oʻahu addressed core commitments to student learning and success, quality and improvement, and institutional integrity, sustainability, and accountability,” said UH West Oʻahu Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Accreditation Liaison Officer, Jacqueline Honda. “These are areas that we’ve worked hard to address. WASC’s reaffirmation of our accreditation confirms our commitment to making UH West Oʻahu the best campus possible.”
The next WASC visit is scheduled for spring 2022, with a Mid-Cycle Review in 2019. The University is required to submit an interim report in fall 2018 to notify the commission about progress made on the commission’s recommendations related to:
- Resource planning and development toward financial stability
- Growing faculty capacity
- Clarifying decision-making structures and processes
- Developing assessment systems and
- Strategizing distance education delivery
A copy of the March 6 WASC letter reaffirming accreditation may be found on the UH West Oʻahu website. In July 2012, the WASC Senior College and University Commission issued a letter notifying UH West Oʻahu of its reaccreditation with Notice of Concern status. UH West Oʻahu has remained fully accredited since 1981.
Read about UH West Oʻahu’s accreditation for the next seven years in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s “Extension accredits UH West Oʻahu through 2022”, Hawaii News Now’s “UH West Oʻahu accreditation reaffirmed, concerns addressed” and KITV’s “UH West Oʻahu gets accreditation for next seven years, WASC also removes ʻNotice of Concernʻ status.” The Honolulu Star-Advertiser also featured a positive editorial about UH West Oʻahu’s accreditation in “UHWO on promising course.”