BİLGİ has become the first higher education institution in Turkey that has been accredited by WSCUC

BİLGİ has become the first higher education institution in Turkey that has been accredited by WSCUC upon successfully completing the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) accreditation process, which began in 2014. With this achievement, BİLGİ has also become the only university that has received international accreditation at institutional level.

One of the world’s most respected accreditation institutions aiming to encourage the institutional improvement of higher education institutions with the independent assessments it carries out, WSCUC aims to guarantee that the accredited universities realize their missions pertaining to their students and public good. The improvement of accredited institutions, particularly in the fields of education quality and student experience, is guaranteed by means of constant auditing and improvements activities.

As a result of the accreditation process, BİLGİ’s compliance with WSCUC standards in many fields such as student-centered learning, quality and sustainability, continuous improvement, commitment to academic freedom, and transparency has been recognized with evidence-based data. It has been officially recognized that BİLGİ has the same institutional standards as some of the world’s best universities that are accredited by WSCUC such as UCLA, University of Southern California, CalTech, UC Berkeley, and Stanford. In the action letter sent by WSCUC, BİLGİ was commended for its commitment to the values of inquiry, service to society, honest and open dialogue, and providing a safe place for civil debate and for its ‘strong encouragement and support for student and alumni success.’ While it was highlighted that BİLGİ was committed to diversity within the Turkish context with its university policies and practices that included attention to gender equity, economic diversity, and internationalization, it was also pointed out that BİLGİ adopted a student-oriented approach in its practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.