What is Accreditation?

Accreditation is the recognition that an institution maintains standards requisite for its graduates to gain admission to other reputable institutions of higher learning or to achieve credentials for professional practice. The goal of accreditation is to ensure that education provided by institutions of higher education meets acceptable levels of quality.

There are two basic types of educational accreditation, one identified as "institutional" and one referred to as "specialized" or "programmatic." Institutional accreditation normally applies to an entire institution, indicating that each of an institution's parts is contributing to the achievement of the institution's objectives, although not necessarily all at the same level of quality.

Specialized accreditation normally applies to the evaluation of programs, departments, or schools which usually are parts of a total collegiate or other postsecondary institution. The unit accredited may be as large as a college or school within a university or as small as a curriculum within a discipline.

Institutional Accreditation

Stanislaus State received its first full accreditation in 1965 & full re-accreditations in 1999 and 2010:

WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC)
985 Atlantic Avenue, Suite 100
Alameda, CA 94501
Phone: (510) 748-9001
Fax: (510) 748-9797
www.wascsenior.org

To learn more, visit the WASC WSCUC webpage.

Specialized Accreditation

Several programs under each of the four colleges are accredited by their specialty organizations:

To learn more, visit the Specialized Accreditation webpage.

Updated: August 28, 2023