PRESS RELEASE
March 2007
American University of Armenia Corporation
300 Lakeside Drive, 5th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
Telephone: (510) 987-9452
Fax: (510) 208-3576
Contact: Gaiane Khachatrian
E-mail: [email protected]
American University of Armenia Receives US Accreditation
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) has accredited the
American University of Armenia. The American University of Armenia (AUA)
received the maximum of seven years initial accreditation from WASC’s
Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities. WASC is one of
six regional associations recognized by the United Stated Department of
Education that accredit public and private universities and colleges.
"We are extremely proud of achieving WASC accreditation," said AUA President
Haroutune Armenian. "This is an unprecedented event in the history of
Armenian higher education and US accreditation opens new doors for the
University. Accreditation will increase regional and Diaspora interest in
higher education in Armenia and will create new lifelong linkages to
Armenia," continued President Armenian.
Armenian Minister of Education and Science Levon Lazarian explained, "The
accreditation of the American University of Armenia by the Western
Association of Schools and Colleges will exert considerable influence on
Armenia’s educational system. AUA is a University that underwent the very
complex procedure of Western accreditation and it provides the assurance of
quality at international standards. This success is the result of AUA’s
consistent work and self-analysis of many years."
AUA was established in 1991 with support from the Armenian Government, the
Armenian General Benevolent Union, and USAID and from its founding has been
an affiliate of the University of California. The University offers
graduate degrees in the health sciences, political science and international
affairs, industrial engineering, computer and information sciences, teaching
English as a second language, business management, and law.
Accreditation indicates that AUA has undergone a period of intensive and
comprehensive self-study followed by on-site evaluations of institutional
performance and educational processes, that AUA operates at a high level of
quality consistent with WASC Commission standards, and that it has
sufficient resources to support existing and planned programs at a
satisfactory level of quality.
According to AUA Provost and Vice President Lucig Danielian, "As a young
institution that carries the traditions of Western higher education to
Armenia and its region, the American University of Armenia has the important
responsibility of attaining the highest possible standards in education and
academic management. The process of accreditation provides us with the
opportunity to achieve the high standards that we seek."
AUA began the WASC accreditation process in 1998 and was supported
throughout with grants from the US State Department. Three teams of
distinguished American university academics and administrators visited
Armenia to evaluate AUA during the different stages of the accreditation
process.