The 2010-2011 school year holds a new milestone for California Baptist University.
After visiting the school last semester, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges granted CBU accreditation reaffirmation for 10 years, the maximum that they give out and the maximum that CBU has ever received.
The WASC commission was formed in 1962 to promote the welfare, interests and development of education in the Western region.
WASC looks for academic integrity and rigor, fiscal stability, good leadership, faculty qualifications and that we are true to who we say we are,” Assistant Provost Dawn Ellen Jacobs said.
For CBU students, this means that the degrees hold more worth than a person coming from a college or university that is not accredited by WASC. It also makes transferability of credits easier if the schools are regionally accredited.
WASC accreditation is also important for students because the university receives the financial aid that allow students to come to CBU.
“It’s really better than we had hoped for,” Jacobs said. “I’m really proud of the people that worked on this with me. I’m very proud of the growth that I’ve seen in my colleagues, faculty, staff, administration – everyone.”
To Jacobs, the time between the WASC reaccreditations was a growing period that let CBU learn what it could do and what it needs to do. It was a time for the university faculty and staff to really work together for the students.
WASC accreditation reaffirmation is important to CBU because it means that the university has upheld and met high standards of quality and effectiveness not only in the academic areas but also in the structuring and resources that the University uses.
“It’s been really gratifying. I’m very proud of CBU right now,” Jacobs said.
