The premier accreditation agency for distance education and travel education schools
See ballot information below.
Our Mission
"The mission of the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools is to advance excellence in education through the process of accreditation." Accreditation promotes continual school improvement leading to greater student achievement.
The Northwest Association of Accredited Schools accredits distance education, elementary, foreign nation, high, K‑12, middle level, post secondary nondegree granting, residential, special purpose, supplementary education, and travel education schools.
The Northwest Association of Accredited schools is one of the nation's six acknowledged accreditation agencies. The geographic territory of the Association consists of the states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington, and other geographical areas designated from time to time by the Board of Trustees.
Welcome!
Welcome to the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools web site. We are committed to provide the information, materials and templates necessary for you to conduct your accreditation activities. Please review the items on both the top menu and the left side menu to access the information you need.
New schools may wish to access the Getting Started page that provides information, an application and the Initial Visit Template. Current member schools should access the state web site by clicking on the map of the states in the region on the left menu to find the link to your state accreditation web site, annual report templates and other materials particular to each individual state in the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools region. These links are maintained by each state accreditation committee and contain specific information pertinent to each state’s Initial Visit fees, annual reporting, and self-study processes. The Idaho State Accreditation Committee charges a rate of $100 for initial visits. The Washington State Accreditation Committee charges a rate of $250 for initial visits and is conducting a pilot with a unique annual reporting procedure. The remaining five states charge a reimbursement for initial visit travel costs and require an annual report.Northwest Association of Accredited Schools Evidence-Based School Evaluation (EBSE) includes the use of self-study documents. Schools scheduled for a self-study and team visit will find two versions below in the Most Requested Documents section or on the left menu of this web site. Please contact your particular state accreditation committee or the International and Transregional Division commissioner about specific details for the use of these documents.
Our Standards
Restructuring Ballot Information:
Notice to all Member Schools:
It is our understanding that some member schools have received or might soon receive an email letter from a company known as the “National Academy of American Scholars” stating that anyone using the “NAAS” acronym or logo is in violation of their trademark. The Northwest Association of Accredited Schools is in the process of working with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to determine whether our association can continue using the existing acronym and logo, or whether we will adopt a new acronym and logo. We have indeed applied to have our logo and acronym trademarked. A final decision on our application is not expected from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office before February of 2010. We will be notifying all member schools of any changes to the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools logo as soon as a decision has been reached.
In the meantime, we encourage member schools to continue to realize that the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools is a legal corporation located in the state of Idaho and that being accredited by same is and always has been valid and acknowledged by the other five regional accreditation associations, all of the commissions on colleges and universities. The Northwest Association of Accredited Schools has been acknowledged along with the other five commissions on schools since 1917, and we will continue to serve all of our member schools through our state committees and the division as we have done in the past.
Read the lastest edition of the eNewsletter.
50 and 75 Year Schools.
Schools accredited 50 and 75 years are now listed on Schools page of the web site. Please see the listing of those schools reaching this wonderful accomplishment.
Northwest Association of Accredited Schools Parent and Information Brochures may now be downloaded and printed.
Please visit the Publications page.
Updated Initial Visit and Annual Report Templates
Most Requested Document(s):
Click on the link(s) below for the requested pages:
- Accredited Schools Listings
- EBSE Self-Study Resource Manual: Administrator, Steering Committee, and Visiting Team Manual
- EBSE Self‑study Documents
- International and Transregional Schools
- Policy for Accepting Credits