Overview

UCSD is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). In order to retain that status, the campus is periodically reviewed to insure that the educational standards described in the WASC 2001 Handbook of Accreditation are met. Reaffirmation of accreditation is a multi-year, self-study process that formally engages the campus in institution-wide reflection on educational capacity and performance. It is a rigorous examination of how institutional resources, structures, and processes are aligned with scholastic outcomes.

Three accreditation committees, the Executive Steering Committee, the Senate-Administration Advisory Committee, and the Institutional Research Coordination Committee, lead and coordinate campus accreditation activities and solicit input from the broader campus community. Faculty, staff, and students who serve on these committees work together under the guidance of UCSD's accreditation liaison officer, Mark Appelbaum, to compile and prepare requisite accreditation documents. The current reaffirmation cycle consists of three major phases and began in 2004 and will be completed in late 2009.