MEDIA ADVISORY – On Friday, July 20, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) approved six Associate of Arts degrees to be completed online through College of Western Idaho (CWI). Starting this fall, CWI students will be able to earn Associate of Arts degrees in Criminal Justice, English, Geography, History, Liberal Arts, and Political Science solely through online instruction.
As noted in the approval letter, NWCCU approved the online delivery because the method aligns with CWI’s mission of providing affordable access to quality teaching and learning opportunities to the residents of its service area in western Idaho. Additionally, the College has implemented a comprehensive virtual campus setting with dedicated staff and faculty to manage the online learning environment. CWI has also enlisted an advisory committee to ensure that the course quality and instruction is comprehensive to support students with superior access to quality teaching and learning resources.
CWI currently offers hundreds of college credit courses via online instruction, but prior to receiving the approval for completion of the degrees in a fully-online instruction modality students had to complete a portion of the degree credits in a traditional classroom environment. With the six degrees approved for complete online delivery, CWI students will have more options for accessing and completing an associate degree regardless of their location.
College of Western Idaho delivers college credit instruction, certificates, and degrees through its memorandum of understand with the College of Southern Idaho (CSI). CSI is accredited through The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). CWI is currently working toward independent accreditation through the NWCCU and in January 2011, CWI was granted candidacy status toward accreditation. The NWCCU online degree delivery approval allows CWI to offer the six online degrees under the accreditation of the College.
For more information on CWI’s online programs and accreditation status please visit cwi.edu.
Contact:
Jennifer Couch
(208) 562-3508
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The College of Western Idaho is a public, open-access, and comprehensive community college committed to providing affordable access to quality teaching and learning opportunities to the residents of its service area in western Idaho. CWI has seven campus locations throughout Southwest Idaho providing higher education and 21st Century technical skills acquisition. The college is dedicated to improving the community’s economic well-being by responding with highly-educated and productive graduates. The foundation for the area’s only community college was created by a supermajority of voters in Ada and Canyon counties on May 22, 2007. For more information about the college, visit cwi.edu or call (208) 562-3000.