Touro University Worldwide is a regionally accredited academic institution with 19,000 students worldwide. Employers and other schools consider regional accreditation the highest standard a school can achieve.

In achieving that goal, TUW ranks among the top level of non-profit institutions in the country. That’s important for students because a school’s accreditation status can impact their academic and career opportunities.

Touro University Worldwide Accreditation

Touro University Worldwide (TUW) has a campus in Los Angeles and provides education to students around the world through its online degree programs. With roots running back to the educational traditions started in Colonial America by Isaac and Judah Touro, TUW is committed to intellectual pursuit, social justice, and service to society and the underserved.

The WASC Senior Colleges and University Commission, one of six regional agencies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, provides accreditation to Touro University Worldwide. WASC’s region includes California, Hawaii, and islands in the Pacific.

The Importance of Accreditation

Independent agencies assess every school’s quality of education. The agencies routinely reevaluate the schools to ensure they maintain high standards. By attending an accredited school, students know other academic institutions, certification organizations, and employers consider the school reputable. This applies to on-campus programs and online learning.

Agencies evaluate colleges in two areas: institutional accreditation and program accreditation.

Institutional accreditation involves assessing the entire university, including programs, faculty, and student success. Other agencies conduct program accreditation. For example, the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing evaluates nursing schools, while the American Bar Association evaluates law schools.

The Difference Between Regional and National Accreditation

Aspiring students should understand the difference between national and regional accreditation.

National accreditation typically involves for-profit schools that offer vocational and technical programs. If a school is nationally accredited, it usually accepts credits from nationally accredited schools and regionally accredited schools.

Most consider regional accreditation the higher standard. The federal government recognizes six independent regional accreditation agencies. The other agencies, in addition to WASC, and the regions they cover are:

• Middle States Commission on Higher Education: Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
• New England Association of Schools and Colleges: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
• North Central Association of Colleges and Schools: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
• Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities: Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

State-run, non-profit universities make up the largest number of regionally accredited schools. Most regionally accredited schools do not accept credits from nationally accredited schools, primarily because they often do not match higher standards for faculty qualifications and library resources.

More About Touro University Worldwide

TUW offers quality degrees through innovative online programs, guided by the principle of providing higher education to people from all areas of society.

Dr. Bernard Lander founded Touro College and University System in New York City in 1970. Dr. Lander founded the school in the tradition of early Jewish-American leaders Isaac and Judah Touro, who during the colonial period worked to enrich the lives of people of all creeds or color through educational opportunities, spiritual outreach, and vocational enterprise. The two donated to universities and helped fund the first library in the country.

Dr. Lander wanted Touro to strengthen Jewish heritage and tradition and serve the larger American and worldwide community through high-quality education.

Touro University Worldwide started with the creation of Touro University International in 1998 by Dr. Yoram Neumann and Dr. Edith Neumann. The university became the first in the world to offer a regionally accredited online doctorate program with no residency requirements. After 2007, when the university was sold, Dr. Bernard Luskin founded Touro University Worldwide. The Drs. Neumann returned in July 2012 to assume leadership of TUW.