Accreditation
Shoreline Community College is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) and has been since 1966. Shoreline is a Member institution with the NWCCU. The NWCCU is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
Accreditation of an institution of higher education by the NWCCU indicates that it meets or exceeds standards of institutional quality as evaluated through a peer review process. An accredited college is one which has available the necessary resources to achieve its stated purposes through appropriate educational programs, is substantially doing so, and gives reasonable evidence that it will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. Institutional integrity is also addressed through accreditation.
Accreditation by the NWCCU is not partial but applies to the institution as a whole. As such, it is not a guarantee of every course or program offered, or the competence of individual graduates. Rather, it provides reasonable assurance about the quality of opportunities available to students who attend the institution.
Inquiries regarding an institution’s accredited status by the NWCCU should be directed to the administrative staff of the institution. Individuals may also contact:
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
8060 165th Avenue N.E., Suite 100
Redmond, WA 98052 (425) 558‐4224 www.nwccu.org
Accreditation by the NWCCU refers to the institution as a whole. Therefore, statements like “fully accredited” or “this program is accredited by the NWCCU” or “this degree is accredited by the NWCCU” are incorrect and should not be used.
Shoreline’s accreditation status is Substantially in Compliance but in Need of Improvement in two areas (see below for details).
Accreditation Documents
Below are links to the college's recent accreditation reports and action letters.
- 2025 Ad Hoc Report: Bachelor of Applied Science in Dental Hygiene
- 2024 Mid-Cycle Response from the NWCCU
- 2024 Mid-Cycle Peer-Evaluation Report
- 2024 Mid-Cycle Self Evaluation Report and Appendices
- 2023 BAS Substantive Change Response from the NWCCU
- 2023 Ad Hoc Response from the NWCCU
- 2022 Ad Hoc Evaluation Report
- 2022 Ad Hoc Report
- 2022 Ad Hoc Visit Delay from the NWCCU
- 2021 Mission Fulfillment and Sustainability Response from the NWCCU
- 2020 Peer Evaluation Report
- 2020 Mission Fulfillment and Sustainability Report
- 2020 Ad Hoc Response from the NWCCU
- 2019 Ad Hoc Self-Study
- 2019 Core Theme Substantive Change Response from the NWCCU
- 2019 Core Themes Substantive Change Follow-up Report
- 2018 Ad Hoc Self-Study
- 2018 Ad Hoc Response from the NWCCU
- 2018 Core Themes Substantive Change
- 2015 Mid-Cycle Self-Evaluation Study Report and Appendices
- 2013 Year One Self-Evaluation Report
Programmatic Accrediting Agencies
Programmatic accrediting agencies accredit individual educational programs within an institution with regard to program-specific standards and have specific definitions of eligibility and operating procedures. Shoreline offers the following educational programs that are accredited by programmatic accrediting agencies:
