The University of Alaska Anchorage has been continuously accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) since 1974. NWCCU is one of six regional accrediting associations that are recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Prior to 1974, UAA existed as an extension of the University of Alaska with no separate accreditation status. Since the merger of the University and the Community Colleges that occurred in 1987, this single accreditation status has applied to all campuses of UAA - in Anchorage, and at Kenai, Kodiak and in the Matanuska Susitna Valley. Prince William Sound Community College in Valdez is separately accredited by NWCCU.

Institutional accreditation is regularly reviewed and renewed (or "reaffirmed") by the NWCCU. This reaffirmation occurs through regular reports and site visits. In addition to these reports and visits, UAA also communicates regularly with the NWCCU about new programs and changes to institutional leaders and organizational structure.

UAA's institutional accreditation was last reaffirmed in early 2011, as a result of an accreditation report and site visit in October 2010. This completed a pilot project that UAA volunteered to participate in, developing new accreditation standards and processes for the northwest region.The first report of the new process was submitted to a panel of peer evaluators in September 2011.

To learn more about the pilot, visit the Accreditation 2010 page.

To learn more about the 2017 cycle, visit the Accreditation 2017 page.

For more information about program accreditation (for individual academic programs and colleges), please visit the Program Accreditation page.

Please direct all inquiries to:

Megan Carlson, Assistant Vice Provost
(907)786-1054
macarlson@uaa.alaska.edu