What is Accreditation?
Accreditation is a status granted to an educational institution that has been found to meet or exceed stated criteria of educational quality. Institutions voluntarily review educational programs to determine that the education provided is of uniform and sound quality. Being awarded accreditation ensures that an institution has been evaluated and that it met set standards of quality determined by the accrediting organization granting the accreditation.
Accreditation serves two fundamental objectives:
- to assure the quality of the institution and
- to assist in the improvement of the institution.
American River College is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges of the The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)--an institutional accrediting body recognized by the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education. ARC received its most recent accreditation "without condition"--the highest ranking a college can receive--in January 2004.