Accreditation Home

Welcome to the Peralta Accreditation site. Here you will find documents supporting our accreditation efforts.

The Peralta Colleges (Berkeley City College, College of Alameda, Laney College, and Merritt College) are accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior College of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, 10 Commercial Blvd., Suite 204, Novato, CA 94949, 415.506.0234, an institutional accrediting body recognized by the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education.

The four Peralta Colleges are approved by the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and are fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), the recognized local accrediting agency which is affiliated with the Federation of Regional Accrediting Commissions of Higher Education. The Office of Private Postsecondary Education also approves the four Peralta Colleges to offer courses to U.S. Veterans for collection of veterans’ benefits.

Each institution affiliated with the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges accepts the obligation to undergo periodic evaluation through Institutional Self Evaluation (self study) and professional peer review. The heart of this obligation is the conducting of a rigorous Institutional Self Evaluation during which an institution appraises itself in terms of its stated purposes. A Comprehensive Institutional Self Evaluation is required every six years following initial accreditation. A Midterm Report is required three years after the Comprehensive Institutional Self Evaluation.