Accreditation
UC Santa Cruz has been fully accredited since 1965 by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC). Being accredited means the campus has met rigorous standards for quality, capacity, and effectiveness. Accreditation confers a variety of benefits, including access to federal financial aid resources.
Recent Accreditation Cycle
The campus is currently undergoing its reaccreditation review, with an off-site review in May 2025 and the site visit in October 2025. The review process is guided by the standards in the 2023 Handbook of Accreditation. The campus will be submitting its Institutional Report in March 2025.
Important components of the accreditation process include program review and learning outcome assessment.
Previous Accreditation Cycle
The campus’s accreditation was previously reaffirmed in 2016 following a multi-year, self-study process that formally engaged the campus in institution-wide reflection on capacity and educational effectiveness.