{"id":8,"date":"2021-06-08T08:28:50","date_gmt":"2021-06-08T12:28:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inside.wooster.edu\/consumer-and-accreditation-information\/?page_id=8"},"modified":"2025-12-05T11:21:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T16:21:16","slug":"accreditation","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/inside.wooster.edu\/consumer-and-accreditation-information\/accreditation\/","title":{"rendered":"Accreditation &amp; State Authorization"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Accreditations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowTransparency=\"true\" width=\"150\" height=\"166\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.yoshki.com\/iframe\/54732.html\" style=\"border:0px; margin:0px; padding:0px; backgroundColor:transparent;\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p>The College of Wooster is accredited by the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hlcommission.org\/\">Higher Learning Commission<\/a>, a historically regional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Individuals may contact the Commission at:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"mailto:info@hlcommission\">The Higher Learning Commission<\/a>&nbsp;<br>230 South LaSalle Street<br>Suite 7-500<br>Chicago, Illinois 60604-1411<br>Phone: 800-621-7440 \/ 312-263-0456<br>Fax: 312-263-7462<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hlcommission.org\/institution\/1544\/\">The College of Wooster Accreditation Status <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In April 2023, the HLC conducted a self-study and team visit on The College of Wooster campus, resulting in a reaffirmation of accreditation. Additionally, an interim report focusing on assessment was submitted and accepted by HLC in August 2025. Prior to that, in June 2017, we completed an<a href=\"https:\/\/confluence.wooster.edu\/pages\/viewpage.action?pageId=9175049\"> <\/a>Assurance Argument for our mid-cycle review by the Higher Learning Commission, followed by the completion of our Quality Initiative project in August 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Upcoming or in-progress reviews include an Assurance Review June 2027, followed by the submission of a Quality Initiative project. Our next Comprehensive Evaluation will take place in 2032-2033. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The College of Wooster has been an accredited institutional member of the <a href=\"http:\/\/nasm.arts-accredit.org\/\">National Association of Schools of Music<\/a> since 1947. The College&#8217;s&nbsp;Teacher Preparation Program is accredited by&nbsp;the <a href=\"http:\/\/caepnet.org\/\">Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP)<\/a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;The College&#8217;s Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Program is accredited by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.asbmb.org\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.asbmb.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology<\/a>.  The College\u2019s program in Chemistry is approved by the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.acs.org\/\">American Chemical Society<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">State Authorization<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The College is <a href=\"https:\/\/nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhighered.ohio.gov%2Feducators%2Facademic-programs-policies%2Facademic-program-approval%2Fprogram-approval-status%2Fprivate-institutions%2Finstitutional%2520reauthorization_&amp;data=05%7C02%7Cdputman%40wooster.edu%7C009841ae1508421394e108dd3bd20309%7C9ef017d97f0542259838f92cff57b7ab%7C0%7C0%7C638732495372248867%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=9%2B6zEsqFs5j6n47wDUGYetnX4TObkFlrJgkeeLz9TlE%3D&amp;reserved=0\">authorized<\/a> by the Ohio Department of Higher Education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>NC-SARA (National council for state authorization reciprocity agreements)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Wooster is&nbsp;approved by The Ohio Department of Higher Education to participate in the <a href=\"https:\/\/nc-sara.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>NC-SARA is a voluntary, regional approach to state oversight of postsecondary distance education. By participating in NC-SARA, Wooster has reciprocity to offer online courses to residents in other NC-SARA states.&nbsp; This allows us to offer online courses in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nc-sara.org\/state-portal-entity-contacts\">SARA member states and territories<\/a>. These include all states (except California), the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For students in California, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bppe.ca.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The California Bureau of Private Postsecondary Education<\/a>&nbsp;does not regulate out-of-state public institutions. Therefore, Bureau approval for Wooster to offer its online courses to you when you are in California is not required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Students enrolled in Wooster distance education courses should attempt to resolve complaints first with <a href=\"https:\/\/inside.wooster.edu\/consumer-and-accreditation-information\/student-consumer-complaint-process\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the College<\/a> before contacting state agencies for resolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Non-instructional complaints<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>As the portal agency for Ohio institutions participating in NC-SARA, The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ohiohighered.org\/students\/complaints\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.ohiohighered.org\/students\/complaints\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ohio <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/highered.ohio.gov\/students\/current-college-students\/student-complaints\/submit-complaint\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.ohiohighered.org\/students\/complaints\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Department <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ohiohighered.org\/students\/complaints\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.ohiohighered.org\/students\/complaints\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">of Higher Education <\/a>handles complaints of a <strong>non-instructional<\/strong> nature.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For further details about the process, view <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nc-sara.org\/student-complaints\">SARA Student <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/nc-sara.org\/sara-student-complaints-0\">Complaint Process <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nc-sara.org\/student-complaints\">workflow<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Instructional complaints<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ohio residents who have complaints of an <strong>instructional<\/strong> nature should contact the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ohiohighered.org\/students\/complaints\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ohio <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/highered.ohio.gov\/students\/current-college-students\/student-complaints\/submit-complaint\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Department <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ohiohighered.org\/students\/complaints\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">of Higher Education<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Residents of SARA states that have instructional complaints should contact their home state consumer protection agency.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Complaint process (students in non-SARA states)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Residents of California&nbsp;who have non-instructional or instructional complaints should contact<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dca.ca.gov\/consumers\/complaints\/index.shtml\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.dca.ca.gov\/consumers\/complaints\/index.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> California\u2019s consumer protection agency<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Other methods for resolution<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Students with unresolved complaints also have the right to contact our regional accrediting body, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hlcommission.org\/HLC-Institutions\/complaints.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Higher Learning Commission<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Accreditations The College of Wooster is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, a historically regional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Individuals may contact the Commission at: The Higher Learning Commission&nbsp;230 South LaSalle StreetSuite 7-500Chicago, Illinois 60604-1411Phone: 800-621-7440 \/ 312-263-0456Fax: 312-263-7462 The College of Wooster Accreditation Status In April 2023, the HLC [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-8","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inside.wooster.edu\/consumer-and-accreditation-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inside.wooster.edu\/consumer-and-accreditation-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inside.wooster.edu\/consumer-and-accreditation-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inside.wooster.edu\/consumer-and-accreditation-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inside.wooster.edu\/consumer-and-accreditation-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8"}],"version-history":[{"count":56,"href":"https:\/\/inside.wooster.edu\/consumer-and-accreditation-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":537,"href":"https:\/\/inside.wooster.edu\/consumer-and-accreditation-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8\/revisions\/537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inside.wooster.edu\/consumer-and-accreditation-information\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}