The American University of Armenia has announced the reaffirmation of its accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC). AUA achieved the maximum possible ten-year accreditation, which is awarded by the Commission relatively rarely. This was stated by AUA President Dr. Bruce Boghosian during a press conference held on March 13.
In his speech, Dr. Boghosian highlighted that a ten-year reaccreditation places AUA in the ranks of some of the world’s top-rated institutions, including Stanford University, the University of California Berkeley, and the University of Southern California, among others. “This conferral is a recognition and reflection of our University’s ability to consistently uphold the very highest of international standards in higher education,” he said.
WASC is one of only six accrediting agencies recognized by the United States Department of Education for accrediting higher education in the United States. All the universities in California are accredited by WASC. AUA initiated the accreditation process in 1998 and was granted Candidate status in 2002. The University reached a historic milestone when accreditation was granted effective August 2006. In March 2015, the WSCUC reaffirmed AUA’s accreditation for nine years, through February
2024.
AUA is currently the only university in Armenia and in the former Soviet Union to have earned regional accreditation recognized by the United States Department of Education. One of the top commendations from the Commission was regarding AUA’s financial stability and the fact that the University offers heavily subsidized tuition.
“The tuition covers only 40% of the cost of educating our students, so we rely on our endowment fund to make up a good fraction of the rest in the form of need-based financial assistance and scholarships for our students. In fact, half of our student body receives some sort of financial aid,” Dr. Boghosian said.
The Commission also commended AUA for successfully expanding into undergraduate education by offering eight in-demand bachelor’s degree programs and also remarked positively on the University’s strong ethical guidelines and policies, which serve as models for other local universities.
In addition, the Commission proposed recommendations to enhance AUA’s development, such as continuous efforts in improving consistency and transparency. “In fact, we have already begun to address many of the recommendations that were suggested by the Commission,” Dr. Boghosian stated.
Accreditation ensures that universities engage in continuous improvement. This was stated during the press conference by Dr. Sharistan Melkonian, Dean of General Education at AUA, who has been leading the Accreditation Steering Committee.
“Earning U.S. accreditation is a sign to our potential students and their families that an AUA degree is worth their time and effort. It is a sign to potential and existing faculty that AUA is a place worthy of sharing their expertise and their time, and it is a sign to the market that AUA graduates are ready to take on the challenges of the local, regional, and global environment,” she added.
AUA is also accredited by Armenia’s National Center for Professional Education Quality Assurance Foundation (ANQA). Dr. Ruben Topchyan, director of ANQA, stated that WASC is recognized by the state of Armenia as an agency that can accredit in Armenia.
“The American University of Armenia has a good internal quality assurance system, which continuously enhances the University’s services to students and their education. I am happy with the results achieved,” Dr. Topchyan said.
Gayane Yenoqian
