Academic Review Guidelines

WSCUC stands for the WASC Senior College and University Commission. It is a regional accrediting agency that evaluates institutions of higher education in California and other areas for academic quality, integrity and effectiveness.

Accreditation assures the public, students and government agencies that the institution meets established standards. It allows access to federal funding and supports the value and credibility of an institution’s degree.

The WSCUC peer review team will visit SDSU from March 25 to March 27, 2026. During that time, the WSCUC team will meet with SDSU community members: students, faculty, staff and also administrators.

The visit allows external peer reviewers to supplement SDSU's self-study with information gleaned from conversations with the campus community. After reading the self study and accompanying evidence and spending time with the campus community, WSCUC team members will evaluate how effective the university is in meeting WSCUC's standards of accreditation.

The institutional report is SDSU’s self-study submitted to WSCUC. It presents evidence of how the university meets accreditation standards and reflects on areas such as student learning, assessment and planning.

The Criteria for Review (CFRs) are standards developed by WSCUC that define what institutions must demonstrate in areas such as institutional purpose, student learning, resource use and continuous improvement.  More information about standards is available online. 

The review team will meet with campus groups including faculty, staff, students and administrators. The WSCUC team will ask questions, explore the institution’s progress and priorities, evaluate the university’s adherence to the criteria for review to supplement information about the instruction from the report.

The report will be available online at https://caa.sdsu.edu/accreditation once ready.

The process involves faculty, staff, administrators, students and governing board members. Coordination is led by SDSU’s Office for Curriculum, Assessment and Accreditation.

Accreditation is reaffirmed on a cycle of up to 10 years. SDSU’s last reaffirmation was in 2016. The 2026 visit will be part of the regular review process.

Accreditation ensures continued access to federal funding, upholds the quality of academic programs and protects the long-term value of students’ degrees.

Yes. Students will be invited to meet with the review team. There will also be open forums and opportunities to learn more and engage before the visit.

Faculty are central to demonstrating educational effectiveness, curriculum quality, program review and learning. Many faculty contribute to writing and reviewing sections of the institutional report. The campus community – students, faculty and staff – will be invited to speak to these areas as well as campus climate and leadership.

Staff contribute to the collection of evidence, implementation of institutional planning, student support services, operations and assessment of institutional outcomes. The campus community – students, faculty and staff – will be invited to speak to these areas as well as campus climate and leadership through open forums and other opportunities.

Yes. The team will present their commendations and recommendations verbally to the campus community and then submit a report to the WSCUC Commission expanding on those findings and providing an evaluation of the institution's adherence to the criteria for review.  The WSCUC Commission will then issue a formal Action Letter to SDSU that outlines its decision and any recommendations or follow-up actions. SDSU will receive the official letter in spring 2026. The university will share the results with the campus community and develop any required follow-up plans after receiving the letter. 

An accreditation archive is available on SDSU's WSCUC webpage. The site has information about the reaffirmation of accreditation processes during both the 2005-06 and also the 2015-16 years, to include action letters, reports and other documents.