Accreditation
Excelsior Classes is a Supplementary Education Center/Program: Fully Accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Schools, Western Association of Schools and Colleges.Why Accreditation?
Some homeschool parents need accreditation for assurance or reporting purposes. It also can be helpful to parents or students in case of a return to a public school or private school setting.
For Excelsior Classes, it helps us to verify that our products and services are on par and provides recognition and accountability for our ongoing quality improvement efforts.
What does accreditation mean?
ACS WASC accreditation means that you can have faith in the rigor of our courses and in our commitment to excellence and improvement. ACS WASC states their benefits as the following:
- Assures a school community that the school’s purposes are appropriate and being accomplished through a viable education program — a trustworthy institution for student learning
- Validates the integrity of the school’s program and transcripts
- Facilitates transfer of credits to other English-speaking schools — critical for college/university acceptance worldwide
- Provides a process for regularly examining programs, processes, and data around school goals and student learning through data analysis, reflection, inquiry, and dialogue
- Builds a professional culture to support the schoolwide action plan
- Fosters the continuous improvement of the school’s programs and operations to support student learning
- Provides valuable insight from fellow educators visiting the school
- Benefits schools that choose joint accreditation or other collaborative processes, e.g., ACS WASC/HIDOE and ACS WASC and IBO.
What did ACS WASC’s Review Find?
All teachers are highly qualified with teaching credentials…[t]he diversity and experience of the staff is to be commended and each one brings their knowledge not only in a specific academic area, but in a career as well. Excelsior Classes is truly creating a college-career student…all the teachers are passionate about teaching and truly care about their students.
Families are extremely happy with Excelsior Classes and how their students are gaining a better understanding of the type of student each one is and how to become a lifelong learner that will succeed in any chosen field. The VC learned that Excelsior Classes communication with families is excellent…Excelsior Classes not only gets to know the student, but staff members also get to know their families.
Excelsior Classes is truly student centered where leadership and staff’s values are seen in their everyday actions, teaching and mentoring. All students are highly valued as students that will make a difference in this ever-changing world.
What Does an SEP Accreditation Mean for my Reporting?
As a Supplementary Education Provider, an SEP, Excelsior Classes provides a final grade PDF for each course completed. This serves as proof of your student’s grade and achievement in the course. By noting on your transcript that the course was taken with an accredited provider, you have verification that your student’s grades are legitimate and official for your own complete transcript.
Since Excelsior Classes is not a degree/diploma granting institution, it is the parent’s responsibility to make sure that the target or intended school or entity will accept your verification. Excelsior Classes cannot guarantee acceptance by any particular program. Per the accreditation guidelines for ACS WASC SEPs, Excelsior Classes is not allowed to provide a transcript; we can only provide verification of course completion. You may check out external vendors who provide such services on our Advising page.
Accrediting Commission for Schools
Western Association of Schools and Colleges
533 Airport Blvd., Suite 200, Burlingame, CA 94010
www.acswasc.org