Highline Accreditation
The NWCCU website has this page for Highline College. This page includes a place to Submit a Complaint, view our Institutional Details, and view upcoming visits in an Accreditation Report.
When is our next report due?
Highline submits a short college update report annually to NWCCU due each Aug 1.
October 21, 2025, two NWCCU peer evaluators read our Ad Hoc report, and visited our campus, to review progress made on Recommendations 1 and 3 from the 2020 visit and called out in the Midcycle Report. You can read all our reports and the NWCCU reports on our accreditation documents page.
When is our Year Six Standard 2 PRFR report due?
Our report is due August, 2026. October, 2026 two-three NWCCU peer evaluators will read our report to verify we meet the requirements. We do not expect a visit. Their report will be on our accreditation documents page once it is available.
When is our Year Seven comprehensive EIE report due?
Our report is due to August, 2027. Our visit will be around Oct 20-25, 2027. Six NWCCU peer evaluators will read our comprehensive self-assessment report, and visit our campus to confirm evidence of Standard 1, that we are meeting our mission, assessing our progress toward our goals, and making improvements. This report and visit also includes our progress on Recommendation #1, 2, and 3 from the last Year Seven visit. You will be invited to join forums and/or meetings depending on your work at the college.
What Is Accreditation?
The process by which a private, non-governmental body (like NWCCU) evaluates an educational institution or program of study and formally recognizes it as having met certain predetermined criteria or standards. The process involves initial and periodic self-study and evaluation by peers. Accreditation implies stimulation toward quality improvement beyond the minimum standards specified by the accrediting body. The essential purpose of the accreditation process is to provide a professional judgment as to the quality of the educational institution or program offered and to encourage continual improvement thereof. (from nwccu.org). The self-study helps each college/program to reflect on its programs, policies, and procedures, to improve methods to accomplish its educational mission and goals.
Why participate?
In addition to the benefits of a continual self assessment, participation allows us to provide federal financial aid to qualifying students; to be accepted as a partner for Direct Transfer Agreements, and to be viewed by the community as a valued source of higher education.
Who grants accreditation status?
Highline College is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), an institutional accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the Secretary of the United States Department of Education. In accordance with NWCCU’s Complaints Against Member Institutions Policy, aggrieved parties may submit a complaint to the NWCCU for review.