NSA Receives Accreditation from NWCCU

On July 21, Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) granted full accreditation status to New Saint Andrews College.

“This was an exceptional move,” Dr. Ben Merkle, president of NSA, said. “Normally at this stage institutions are granted Candidate status for a period of time, then may move to full accreditation after a few more years. To go immediately to full accreditation was a welcome surprise.”

Post-secondary institutions commonly seek accreditation in order to gain access to government funding. However, since NSA remains firm in its commitment to decline government funding, that was not the motivation behind this effort.

Although NSA has been a fully accredited member of the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS) since 2005, for the last several years, NSA also has been working toward institutional accreditation with NWCCU. Post-secondary institutions commonly seek accreditation in order to gain access to government funding. However, since NSA remains firm in its commitment to decline government funding, that was not the motivation behind this effort.

“Our main reason for seeking NWCCU accreditation was to strengthen the hand of NSA graduates as they look for admission at similarly accredited graduate schools,” President Merkle said. NSA is interested in the welfare of students after they graduate or transfer, and this accreditation will ease their path at other institutions. Transfer credits or acceptance into a graduate program are real and tangible benefits to students, and they are much more likely to receive these benefits if NSA shares an accreditor with the receiving institution.

NWCCU is a postsecondary accrediting agency recognized by the US Department of Education and the Council on Higher Education Accreditation. NWCCU states that it grants accreditation to “higher education institutions for performance, integrity, and quality to merit the confidence of the educational community and the public.”

The criteria that NWCCU uses to evaluate an institution are: 

• fostering excellence through the development of guidelines for assessing educational quality
• encouraging institutional improvement through continuous self-study
• establishing conditions under which the institution can achieve its educational objectives
• providing counsel and assistance to established and developing institutions

In the accreditation process with NWCCU, it is not unusual for colleges to be in Candidate status for several years, with some staying in this status for up to five years as they bring their programs and processes to the standard required by the accreditor. NSA was awarded applicant status in 2021, then awarded full accreditation only two years later. It is highly unusual for a college to move from applicant status to full accreditation status in such a swift manner.

“Because of the strength of our application, our self-study, and our site visit, the NWCCU Board of Commissioners opted to skip the Candidate status for us and move us immediately to full accreditation.” -Dr. Merkle

“Because of the strength of our application, our self-study, and our site visit, the NWCCU Board of Commissioners opted to skip the Candidate status for us and move us immediately to full accreditation,” Dr. Merkle said.

NSA also saw NWCCU membership as a way to gain input as an institution. The need to assess and adjust both programs and practices has become crucial to NSA during this time of growth and change, and the impetus of NWCCU’s standards and documentation requirements has strengthened NSA as an institution and provided the college with valuable peer feedback. 

NWCCU says accreditation “indicates that the institution as a whole is substantially achieving its mission and that it meets the Commission’s expectations for compliance with the accreditation criteria.”

The mission of New Saint Andrews College is: “Graduating leaders who shape culture living faithfully under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.”

“We are thankful to God for his kindness to us in this unexpected blessing. We are also grateful to the NWCCU Board of Commissioners and to the TRACS Board of Commissioners,” Dr. Merkle said. “We have much to be thankful for.”