NWACC celebrates continued accreditation

BENTONVILLE – NorthWest Arkansas Community College faculty and staff celebrated the official notification that the institution has received continued accreditation to the 2019-20 school year.

A reception Monday, Dec. 3, in the college’s Student Center allowed faculty and staff to learn more about the recent accreditation actions and the continuous quality improvement process. The college uses the Commission’s Academic Quality Improvement Program as its system for the accreditation process.

NWACC was notified Oct. 26 of the extended accreditation.

“We are extremely pleased about the Higher Learning Commission’s action, and we look forward to continuing the process of improving our ability to serve our students effectively,” said Dr. Becky Paneitz, president of NorthWest Arkansas Community College."

NWACC hosted a Quality Checkup team from the Higher Learning Commission this summer as part of the review process. The team of Dave Overbye, dean of Academic Affairs at Realtor University, and Jill Wright, dean of English, Social Sciences, and Language Studies at Illinois Central College, met with various groups from NWACC July 16-18 to talk through topics such as leadership, planning and institutional performance evaluation.

A report based on the team’s visit noted that the college uses principles of quality and process-focus to guide its daily and overall actions. “The AQIP principles are evident among its business, academic, and support services,” the team wrote. “Collectively, all groups work toward the goal of quality, and this drives its ability to understand process design, data collection (both qualitative and quantitative), measurement, data analysis, and improvement.”