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A member of The University of North Carolina, Western Carolina University offers courses in the arts, sciences, technologies, humanities, and professions. Students can elect degree programs at the bachelor, masters, or doctoral levels. As a regional comprehensive institution, it serves the people of North Carolina from its residential campus at Cullowhee and through off-campus instruction in Asheville and other locations.
Teaching and learning constitute the central mission of Western Carolina University. The university seeks to create a community of scholarship in which the activities of its members are consistent with the highest standards of knowledge and practice in their disciplines. The commitment of the community to service, research, and creative activities complements the central mission and extends the benefits of its scholarship to society. As a major public resource for Western North Carolina, the university assists individuals and agencies in the region through the expertise of its faculty, its staff, and its students.
Western Carolina University aspires to provide an environment in which students, faculty, and staff jointly assume responsibility for learning where the free exchange of ideas, and in which intellectual challenge, and high standards of scholarship prevail.
The university aspires to prepare students to become responsible citizens in a global community. By working both independently and collaboratively, graduates of the University should demonstrate:
- the ability to think critically, to communicate effectively, to identify and resolve problems reflectively, and to use information and technology responsibly;
- proficiency in the intellectual and technical skills of a disciplined study in the arts, sciences, humanities, technologies, or professions;
- an appreciation for the creative and performing arts; and
- a basis for continued personal development and lifelong learning.
To encourage and protect the free and open interchange of ideas, the university strives to provide experiences that foster the development of respect among all its members toward the larger communities of which it is a part. Accordingly, the university encourages its students, faculty, and staff to display the following traits of citizenship:
- behavior characterized by honesty, integrity, and responsibility;
- service to others;
- awareness of and sensitivity to the concerns of diverse people and cultures; and
- commitment to stewardship of the natural and cultural environment.
Western Carolina University is located in the scenic Appalachian mountain ranges at Cullowhee, North Carolina. The university consists of the main campus in Cullowhee and resident credit centers in Asheville and Cherokee. A faculty of about 387 serves a student body of almost 8,400 in resident-credit and extension classes.
The Cullowhee campus is in a rural valley between the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains, 52 miles west of Asheville and seven miles south of Sylva on North Carolina Highway 107. The location, at the southern end of Cullowhee Valley in the heart of the Tuckaseigee River basin, gives it an unusually attractive setting. The closest commercial airport to the university is located in Asheville, and there is airline service to Asheville. Private taxi service is available.
The central campus consists of about 233 acres, including beautifully wooded areas and modern academic, student residence, recreation, and athletic facilities. The Blue Ridge Parkway, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cherokee Indian Reservation, Fontana Lake, and numerous resort areas offer golfing, skiing, fishing, hunting, hiking, water sports, and other recreational opportunities nearby.
Western Carolina University, a constituent institution of The University of North Carolina, functions under the jurisdiction of the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina and the Board of Trustees of Western Carolina University. Policies of the Board of Governors are administered by the president and the General Administration of The University of North Carolina. The Board of Trustees receives its authority by delegation from the Board of Governors.
The chancellor is the chief administrative officer of the university. The Faculty Senate, the principal policy-recommending body of the faculty, operates under the provisions of a faculty constitution and bylaws.
Western Carolina University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097; telephone number 404-679-4501) to award bachelor’s, master’s, education specialist’s, and doctor’s degrees. In addition to this institutional accreditation, other special accreditation by appropriate agencies includes these:
AACSB International - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
American Chemical Society
American Council for Construction Education-candidacy status
American Dietetic Association
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs in cooperation with the Council on Accreditation of the American Health Information Management Association and the Joint Review Committee on Educational Programs for the Emergency Medical Professions
Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs-Athletic Training candidacy status
Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education
Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)
Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs
Council on Social Work Education
Foundation on Interior Design Education Research (FIDER)
National Accreditation Council for Environmental Health Science and Protection
National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences
National Association of School Psychologists
National Association of Schools of Music
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
National Council for Teachers of English
National Kitchen and Bath Association Endorsement
North American Society for Sport Management/National Association of Sport and Physical Education
North Carolina Board of Nursing
North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
Project Management Institute, Inc.
Technology Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc. (Manufacturing Engineering Technology and Electronics Engineering Technology)
The university is a member of appropriate state and national associations and organizations to which its professional programs are related. These include but are not limited to:
Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences
American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
American Association of Colleges of Nursing
American Association of Higher Education
American Association of State Colleges and Universities
American Council on Education
American Society of Allied Health Professions
Association for Theatre in Higher Education
Association for Continuing Higher Education
Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges
College Entrance Examination Board
Conference of Southern Graduate Schools
Cooperative Education Association
Council of Applied Masters Programs in Psychology
Council of Graduate Schools in the United States
Institute for International Education, Inc.
International Council for Small Business
Mathematics Association of America
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
National Business Education Association
National University Continuing Education Association
North American Association of Summer Sessions
North Carolina Academy of Science
North Carolina Association of Colleges and Universities
North Carolina Bar Association
North Carolina Political Science Association
Southeastern Theatre Conference
Southern Atlantic States Association for Asian and African Studies
Southern Regional Education Board
Southern States Communication Association
Speech Communication Association
United States Distance Learning Association
United States Institute for Theatre Technology
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