Bowling Green, Ky. - After a review process that took more than two years, Western Kentucky University has been granted reaffirmation of accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).

"Reaffirmation means that WKU has met the standards for quality, performance and accountability set by the association,” said Dr. John Petersen, associate vice president for Academic Affairs. “This reaffirmation was the culmination of two-plus years of work by many individuals at the university aided by off-site and on-site peer reviewers and the SACS staff.”

President Gary Ransdell said WKU “used the accreditation reaffirmation process to strengthen our campus strategic plan. We have been using this process to define our emerging theme for civic engagement among students, faculty and staff, and to sharpen our focus to serve our region with relevant applied research throughout our curriculum.”

Dr. Ransdell added “meeting the SACS national standards is an important first step in becoming a leading American university with international reach.”

Provost Dr. Barbara Burch said the reaffirmation “is an absolute essential for our institution as we aspire to be a leading American university. The SACS accreditation standards have been refocused in recent years to address the most important indicators of quality in a university. The process is an intensive review of the entire institution with particular attention to the quality of the faculty and its academic programs.”

Dr. Burch added: “It is a credit to everyone who is a part of the university as well as our many partners who have worked with us to achieve this continuing quality recognition. A particularly important component in this process has been the opportunity for the campus to identify a focused quality enhancement plan that will enable us to continue to elevate the quality of student learning at WKU.”

The focus of the Western plan was “Engaging Students for Success in a Global Society,” she said. “This plan will provide WKU students with expanded opportunities to engage in international experiences, applied research and creative activities, service learning initiatives, community and civic engagement and other learning experiences that will enhance the quality of their Western experience,” she said.

The reaffirmation was granted Tuesday at the annual meeting SACS’ Commission on Colleges in Atlanta. The next scheduled reaffirmation review will be in 10 years.

More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.

For more information, contact Dr. John Petersen, (270) 745-5468.