Accreditation is a process of external quality review which serves to assure students, parents, policymakers, the broader educational community, and the general public that an institution has met high standards of effectiveness. Both federal and state government consider accreditation to be a reliable authority on academic quality. The federal government relies on accreditation to assure the quality of institutions and programs for which the government provides federal funds and for which the government provides federal aid to students. Most state governments will initially license institutions and programs without accreditation. However, states will subsequently require accreditation to make state funds available to institutions and students. States often require that individuals who sit for state licensure in various professions have graduated from accredited institutions and programs. Accreditation also helps to ensure that credits and degrees are recognized for purposes of employment and transfer or admission to other institutions. No institution in the United States is required to seek accreditation, but because of the recognized benefits of the process, most eligible institutions have sought to become accredited. The WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) is one of seven regional accrediting agencies in the U.S. and is the accrediting body for Cal State LA. For more information on accreditation, see the Overview of U.S. Accreditation by the Council of Higher Education Accreditation or the Handbook of Accreditation by WSCUC.
Every six, eight, or ten years, institutions accredited by WSCUC are reviewed to reaffirm their accreditation status. The two- to three-year process of reaffirmation of accreditation usually involves the completion of an institutional self-study and institutional report, an off-site review by WSCUC, and an on-site visit by a team of WSCUC service members. Cal State LA concluded its most recent Accreditation Visit on March 1, 2019. In June 2019, Cal State LA will receive an action letter from the Commission with details on Cal State LA's next reaffirmaiton of accreditation cycle.