Weimar Institute Earns Regional Accreditation

Spectrum Website
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Weimar Institute has announced it has achieved regional accreditation through the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Senior College and University Commission. The accreditation is for a period of six years, retroactive to January 2018. As one of six regional accreditors in the United States, WSCUC accredits public and private higher education institutions in the Western United States and parts of Asia and the Pacific region.

The WSCUC cited Weimar Institute’s “clearly articulated mission and vision of health evangelism integrated and expressed throughout all levels of the institution including students, staff, faculty, administration, and trustees.” The commission also commended the transformational impact of the Total Community Involvement program which involves students, faculty and staff in weekly outreach opportunities to support area residents and communities surrounding Weimar, California.

Weimar Institute is a self-supporting, Seventh-day Adventist college located in the Sierra Nevada foothills of northern California. Since 1978, its vision has been to heal a hurting world – a goal shared by its students, faculty and staff from almost 50 countries. Home to the NEWSTART Lifestyle Program, Weimar Institute also includes the Weimar Natural Foods Store, Weimar Academy, Weimar Elementary School, and Weimar Farms. These industries and organizations provide students with educational and work-study opportunities while positively impacting the local community.

For more information, visit the Weimar Institute website and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Senior College and University Commission website.

Fonda Seifert is the associate editor for SpectrumMagazine.org

Image courtesy of Weimar Institute website.

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This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at http://spectrummagazine.org/node/9467
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#2

this is an interesting development…i hope weimar can maintain it’s historic adventist reputation over time…accreditation pressures have seemed to challenge this ideal to some extent in some of our other institutions…

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#3

Could this be a trend that will see other self-supporting SDA schools apply for accreditation? While this is great step so as to give their graduates marketability, how will this impact other SDA organized schools. Will these schools draw prospective students away from other SDA schools? Will this benefit the organized church in the long run or could this be another variant of sibling rivalry that goes back to the story of Abel and Cain?

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#4

it’s probably a question of a race towards extinction, unless costs can be kept down, which doesn’t appear possible…

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#5

My sense, based on observation of families I’ve known, is that parents, and in some cases parents and students together, are choosing schools like Weimar because they feel traditional Adventist schools are somehow lacking in spirituality or homeopathic medical curriculum or both.

If that is indeed the case, I doubt this accreditation will draw much more percentage of Adventist students than they currently are.

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#6

i think you’re right with respect to the people who tend to choose a place like weimar…but for the people who don’t, the lack of accreditation can’t be ruled out as a factor…

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#7

That’s a great point. Interestingly, accreditation makes it easier for Weimar students to transfer credits to other schools, both Adventist and secular. Honestly, I think that God has raised every Adventist school to educate individuals to honor Him in various capacities. Weimar may not be for everyone ( and it is smaller than most Adventist schools). Ultimately, the best advice that anyone can give to an young person who is searching for the right college is to follow God’s plan for their life, wherever that plan may lead.

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I once served as board chairman of our ES and had difficulty convincing our local SDA High School faculty members to send their children to our church elementary school. They thought it best to send their children to other parochial schools. Sad. Yet they traveled our state convincing other church members to send their children to our boarding SDA HS. Go figure.

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In 2004 I attended the NEWSTART program at Weimar Institute. During that time I rode on the Weimar’s bus to some events, and overheard some of the staff who were accompanying us, say that the pre-nursing students at Weimar College are not being admitted to transfer to nursing school at Loma Linda University School of Nursing, because the curriculum at Weimar was substandard. I wonder how/when that situation changed.
Just wondering…
[In other words, just achieving “accreditation” does not necessarily mean Weimar College is presenting a strong program to their students.]

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