Importance of WASC

What is WASC?

The Western Association of School and Colleges (WASC) is an accrediting commission for schools based out of California. Their job is to accredit international schools based on the California or Common Core standards. The re-accreditation process is an 18 month process including an extensive Self-Study report written by the school detailing what they do. WASC’s job is to do an extensive investigation into the Self-Study report and school to see if they are meeting all standards and doing everything possible to meet all of the students’ educational needs. The process ends in a large-scale six day visit from a WASC Visiting Committee consisting of three members. During this visit they analyze all aspects of the school including curriculum, teachers, management, plans for the future and much more. Their visit will determine the accrediting status of the school.

什麼是WASC?

WASC (Western Association of School and College) 美國加州西部院校評鑑協會。協會乃依據加州及美國教學核心標準，對國際學校進行教育評鑑認證。再次認證共計歷時18個月，由學校遞交一份自評報告給該協會，內容詳細載明了學校的各項工作計畫。WASC教育評鑑，是廣泛性的評核學校所提出的自評報告書，其內容與實際是否相符合，能否滿足學生們的教育需求。此次評鑑由三位評鑑委員組成，進行長達六天的評鑑訪視。蒞校評鑑期間，訪視委會詳細檢視了學校各個面向，包涵：課程課表、教師教學、行政管理、學校未來計畫等。經由這樣的訪視來決定學校是否獲得認證。

What does WASC accreditation mean for a school?

WASC accreditation means that any student who attends our school will have their credits accepted in schools and universities in the United States, as well as many other countries. Furthermore, it means that the school is considered by WASC to have a good educational program for students with strong teachers to implement it. In a nutshell, it means that the school who has WASC accreditation is considered a completely American school with a quality program that is located in America.

學校接受WASC評鑑認證代表著什麼？

WASC 認證代表在本校就讀的學生，在學校所修習得的學分，將獲得美國及其他國家的學校認可並採計。除此之外，還代表著學校被 WASC官方組織，認同擁有完善的教育計劃及強大師資。總之，獲得WASC 認證的學校，被視為教學與課程相當優質，等同於美國在地的學校。

Why is accreditation important?

WASC accreditation is very important because it means that the school is a part of a reflective and ongoing process to be the best that they can be for students. It also legitimizes all of the hard work that the students are putting in and leads to easier success for the students in the future.