Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) is an independent, non-profit membership organization recognized by the United States Department of Education since 1952 as an institutional accreditor for colleges and universities. Scope Before 2020, when the Department of Education reorganized accreditation, NWCCU was the regional authority on educational quality and institutional effectiveness of higher education institutions in the seven-state Northwest region of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. It establishes accreditation criteria and evaluation procedures by which institutions are reviewed. The commission is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. The Commission oversees regional accreditation for 156 institutions. Its decision-making body consists of up to twenty-six Commissioners who represent the public and the diversity of higher education institutions within the Northwest region. The NWCCU also accredits non-US institutions. Capilano University, Thompson Rivers University, and Simon Fraser University of British Columbia, Canada received accreditation in 2013, 2015, and 2018, respectively.