NWCCU Reaffirms Institutional Accreditation

The college recently received word from the NWCCU that our accreditation has been reaffirmed. The report indicates that all previous recommendations (from the 2018 accreditation site visit) have been fulfilled, provides guidance for improvements going forward, and commends the college in four areas:

• A focus on student career readiness
• Community engagement initiatives that are aligned with the institutional mission
• A strong commitment to student success, and
• The libraries’ commitment to institutional collaboration, student learning, student support services, and utilization of data to inform annual and five-year planning.

The Commission also made recommendations to help Lewis & Clark better demonstrate our compliance with NWCCU Standards related to assessment of institutional mission fulfillment, strategic planning, and program learning outcomes and indicated that we need to define and publicize indicators of student achievement. You can read the full report, including dates of upcoming reviews and visits, here (must be signed in as an LC user).

Overall, this is a positive outcome that recognizes the hard work and commitment of our faculty and staff and provides guidance for our initiatives and goals going forward. Thank you to everyone who participated in the accreditation process over the last several years. It’s a great deal of work not only to complete the assessments, but also to compile the information and evidence and to write a comprehensive and effective report. Special thanks to Renée Orlick, Accreditation Liaison Officer and AVP for Institutional Research and Planning, for shepherding us through this process.