Notice Report and Visit
HLC places an institution on Notice when it is at risk of being out compliance with the Criteria for Accreditation. While on Notice, the institution submits a Notice Report providing evidence that it is no longer at risk of not meeting the Criteria for Accreditation. The institution may also be required to host a Notice Visit to demonstrate that the concern(s) that led to the sanction have been addressed.
Note: See HLC’s Dues and Fees Schedule for costs associated with Notice Reports and Visits.
Notice Report
An institution must provide its Notice Report and any additional required materials to the peer review team and HLC. If the institution is required to host a Notice Visit, the report will be due eight weeks prior to the visit.
Required Materials
Please submit the following materials. Any additional items will not be reviewed. The information should be no more than 100 pages and must be submitted as a single PDF document.
- Institutional Notice Report. The content of the report should demonstrate the institution’s progress in addressing the concerns identified in the action letter assigning Notice. Evidence and supporting documentation should be incorporated into the report. The report includes:
- A brief description of institutional history and context.
- The institution’s response to the concerns raised by HLC.
- Evidence that the institution has addressed the issues raised by HLC.
- A list of additional evidence available to the peer review team.
- A list of links to Faculty/Staff Handbooks, Student Handbook and Institutional Catalog.
- Additional materials, as requested. HLC or the peer review team may request additional information during the review process.
Material Guidelines
All materials must be submitted in PDF format. Therefore, an individual with expertise in using appropriate PDF software, such as Adobe Acrobat, should prepare the materials for submission.
Documents should be bookmarked, indexed and searchable with links to internal documents that allow for ease of movement across chapters, sections and subsections. Include pagination and organizational strategies that make it easy for the reader to navigate within the document. Printed documents should not be scanned to create a PDF, as the document will result in a large file size that is not searchable.
Personally Identifiable Information
When submitting documents, the institution should carefully consider whether documents containing personally identifiable information (PII) must be included. If the documents must be included for evaluative purposes, please redact the PII where possible. If redaction of the PII will interfere with the evaluative value of the document, please clearly identify the document as containing PII (for example, through a cover page or prominent notation on the document). Institutions are not expected to redact or identify information or documents where the only PII included is employee or Board member names and work contact information.
PII is any information about an individual that allows the individual to be specifically identified. This includes, but is not limited to: name, address, telephone number, birthday, email, social security number, bank information, etc. A document does not include PII if personal information is de-identified (for example, student financial receivables without student names or bank routing information) or is provided in the aggregate (for example, data on faculty qualifications). See HLC’s PII Guidelines for more information.
Document Submission
Institutions should submit all materials electronically. Please do not submit hard copies of materials to peer reviewers or to HLC, unless directed to do so by HLC.
Documents for HLC
Upload the required documents to hlcommission.org/upload. Select “Visit Materials” from the list of submission options to ensure the institution’s materials are sent to the correct HLC staff member. In the message box, please include the institution name and specify the visit type (e.g. Narnia University – Notice Report). Do not send any documents to HLC via email.
Documents for the Team
The institution should send each peer review team member the same materials it submitted to HLC. Documents can be submitted to the peer review team via email or using a secure link to a download site.
Note: If the team requests additional documents during the course of the review, the institution should also provide those documents to HLC through the process above. Documents should be provided in a single PDF. In the message box, include the institution name and specify that the team requested the documents (e.g., Narnia University – Team Requested).
Notice Visit
Notice Visits are typically conducted by a team of two peer reviewers for two days. Some unique visits may require additional days and additional team members. The team’s role is to evaluate the concerns identified that led to the imposition of the sanction and to provide HLC with a report and recommendation. If additional matters raising accreditation concerns come to the attention of the team in the course of its evaluation, it notes them in its report and recommends additional follow up as appropriate.
The team may recommend removal of Notice with or without monitoring, extension of Notice, imposition of Probation or a Show-Cause Order, or withdrawal of accreditation.
The institution is given an opportunity to submit an institutional response to the team’s recommendation before the review goes to HLC decision-making bodies for review and action.
Decision Making
HLC’s Board of Trustees has sole decision-making authority for assigning and removing sanctions. Before the case goes to the Board for final action, it will first be reviewed by a committee of Institutional Actions Council members. The IAC committee will provide a recommendation regarding the case to the Board. The institution will be given an opportunity to submit a response to the IAC recommendation.
The Board will review the team and IAC recommendations and institutional materials, including any submitted institutional responses. The Board may remove the institution from Notice if it is no longer at risk of not meeting the Criteria for Accreditation. If the institution is still at risk of not meeting the Criteria for Accreditation — or if the institution is no longer meeting the Criteria for Accreditation — the Board may take another action in accordance with HLC policies, including extending Notice, placing the institution on Probation, issuing a Show-Cause Order or withdrawing accreditation.
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