What you need to know about accreditation

Dear UAA Community,

The situation involving the loss of programmatic accreditation at UAA's School of Education over the past several days continues to foster misperceptions that need to be clarified. Here are some important facts all students, faculty and staff should know.

If you're not in the School of Education, you're not affected. Why? The loss of accreditation only involves certain programs within the School of Education. Nothing else.

What you need to know about accreditation. There are two types of higher education accreditation. The first is institutional (also known as "regional"), which accredits the institution as a whole. This is UAA's accreditation through the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. UAA has been accredited through NWCCU since 1974.

The other type of accreditation is programmatic, or "specialized" accreditation. This is the type of accreditation the School of Education sought for its initial licensure programs. This accreditation is through the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).

The loss of programmatic accreditation affected hundreds of School of Education students. The university is doing everything it can to help each affected student make the best decisions possible regarding their respective paths forward. The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development's decision Tuesday allows UAA to continue to make recommendations for licensure. This enables students with plans to graduate in the spring and summer 2019 semesters to obtain their hard-earned licenses.

For more information, please visit the School of Education's website and the frequently asked questions (FAQ) webpage.

UAA Office of University Advancement

January Archive