the meaning of accreditation
Accreditation allows an institution to award valid credit that meets high educational standards. Accreditation is a process in which certification of competency, authority or credibility is presented. The accreditation process ensures that an institution's certification practices are acceptable, typically meaning that they are competent to test and certify third parties, behave ethically and employ suitable quality assurance. Being accredited means that an institution is obligated to only accept credits from those schools that are accredited through the parent company, Cognia. Member schools put themselves in legal jeopardy by accepting credits from unrecognized and unaccepted accreditation companies or associations.
history of accreditation in washington county school district
Washington County School District has been accredited through Northwest Association of Accredited Schools since 1963. In the 2011/12 School Year, Northwest merged with AdvancED Education Inc. In the 2020/21 school year Advance Ed merged with Cognia.
Originally the acronym was NAAS for Northwest Association of Accredited Schools but the acronym was in conflict with another business entity. The acronym was changed to NWAC in 2010 to reflect the new name of Northwest Accreditation Commission.