Information on Accreditation

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

What is Accreditation?

Colleges, universities, and programs are accredited. “Accreditation” is a review of the quality of higher education institutions and programs. In the United States, accreditation is a major way that students, families, government officials, and the press know that an institution or program provides a quality education.

Whether a college, university, or program is accredited is important:

Students who want federal (and sometimes state) grants and loans need to attend a college, university, or program that is accredited.
Employers ask if a college, university, or program is accredited before deciding to provide tuition assistance to current employees, evaluating the credentials of new employees, or making a charitable contribution.
The federal government requires that a college, university, or program be accredited when they make state funds available to students or institutions and when they allow students to sit for state licensure examinations in some professional fields.

Who Accredits North Idaho College?

Accreditors may be regional, national career-related, programmatic or national faith-related accreditors that are recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) or both.

North Idaho College is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, an institutional accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.

Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
8060 165th Avenue N.E.
Suite 100
Redmond, WA 98052

The Nursing program is accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission. The Radiography Technology program is accredited by the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT).

Accreditation Reports

North Idaho College is now reporting under the new NWCCU standards and seven-year reporting model. As part of the implementation process, North Idaho College will complete the seven-year process in three years. The first of four reports and the evaluation team response may be viewed below:

Year One Report, Standard 1 [PDF]
NWCCU Evaluation Team Response [PDF]

In April 2008, commission evaluators visited North Idaho College for a five-year interim evaluation. Based on the documentation and interviews conducted during this visit, the evaluators concluded that the recommendations from the full-scale evaluation visit in 2003 have been, and continue to be, adequately addressed and integrated into the ongoing operations of the college.

The 2008 evaluation committee report may be viewed below:

Evaluation Committee Report [PDF]
2008 Self Study [PDF]

North Idaho College's accreditation was reaffirmed in June 2003 by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities on the basis of the comprehensive evaluation conducted on-campus in April 2003.

The 2003 full-scale evaluation committee report for North Idaho College may be viewed below:

Evaluation Committee Report [PDF]
2003 Self Study [PDF]