Mills College was founded in 1852 and is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), 985 Atlantic Avenue, Suite 100, Alameda, CA 94501, 510.748.9001. Documents describing the most recent accreditation review by WASC are available on request from the Office of the Provost and Dean of the Faculty at 510.430.2096.

The College is now engaged in our next WASC reaffirmation. The development of our Institutional Proposal is the first step of the accreditation review cycle. The Institutional Proposal, which was submitted October 15, 2007, will guide the entire review process. It establishes a framework for connecting Mills with the Standards of Accreditation and serves as a basis for the Capacity and Preparatory Review and Educational Effectiveness Review that will follow.

WASC offers institutions a number of different models for this review process. We have chosen the strategic planning model. As the Mills College 2003–2007 Strategic Plan neared its end, President Janet L. Holmgren launched a new strategic planning process and appointed a campus-wide strategic planning working group consisting of 22 representatives from the faculty, staff, students, and administration. A website for the strategic planning process has been established on the Mills intranet. The working group was divided into five subcommittees, each charged with addressing strategic issues in one of five interconnected areas: finance, academic development, faculty and staff, student life, and facilities and technology. Each subcommittee developed a report that presenting its strategic goals, implementation strategies, indicators of success, assignment of responsibility for each strategy, and cost estimates. The subcommittee reports have been drawn together into one comprehensive report that was presented to the Board of Trustees in fall 2007. The focal points of our WASC Institutional Proposal have grown out of the work of the College’s strategic planning activities. Furthermore, the membership of the WASC Steering Committee is drawn from the strategic planning working group. A larger advisory group will be created as we move forward in the accreditation review process.

WASC accreditation is defined by two Core Commitments—Institutional Capacity and Educational Effectiveness. In order to address these two Core Commitments, the WASC Commission has defined Standards for Accreditation:

• Standard 1: Defining Institutional Purposes and Ensuring Educational Objectives
• Standard 2: Achieving Educational Objectives Through Core Functions
• Standard 3: Developing and Applying Resources and Organizational Structures to Ensure Sustainability
• Standard 4: Creating an Organization Committed to Learning and Improvement

1. The WASC institutional review process has three steps:
2. The Institutional Proposal–accepted May 1, 2008
3. The Capacity and Preparatory Review–spring 2009
4. The Educational Effectiveness Review submitted to WASC July 14, 2010
5. The Educational Effectiveness Review–October 6–8, 2010