Utah Valley State College has been accredited as a four-year institution by the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges, President Kerry Romesburg said last week. Moreover, the Utah State Office of Education has granted UVSC full accreditation for its applied technology programs.

The NWASC accreditation applies to its baccalaurate and associate degrees. The institition had already received accreditation for its two-year associate programs.The baccalaurate accreditation includes bachelor of science degrees with majors in business management, computer science and information systems, and a major in technology management.

"Accreditation is the most important academic exercise that an institution can undergo," Romesburg said in a prepared statement. During the Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday, Romesburg said the evaluation last October that led to the announcement went so well that the accreditation team won't be back until 2004.

Usually during the fifth year of accreditation the institution must submit an interim report and recieve a visit by at least one commission representative. That's not the case with UVSC, Romesburg said.

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"This is good news. If you can't tell I'm very proud of what we have accomplished here," he said.

UVSC has been operating under provisional accreditation for the past three years, needed to allow students to get federal financial aid and to transfer credits to another school.

The accreditation team consists of officials and teachers from other institutions in the NWASC system. Paul K. Sybrowski, vice chairman of the Board of Trustees has just been named to a post on that team.

State evaluators visited the applied technology programs last February but didn't grant accreditation until Dec. 8.

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