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How Accreditation Works for You

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What is Accreditation HLC’s Processes Student Involvement FAQs

What Is Accreditation?

Accreditation is a system of evaluating a college or university to ensure it provides a quality education experience. There are two types of accreditation that colleges and universities frequently seek:

Institutional

HLC is an institutional accreditor recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Institutional accreditors evaluate the college or university as a whole, including its educational offerings, governance, operations and finances. When a college or university achieves institutional accreditation, that means it meets broad organizational quality standards. The accreditation applies to all of its programs, delivery methods and locations.

Programmatic

Programmatic accreditors (also known as specialized or professional accreditors) evaluate a specific program at an institution. This type of accreditation is pursued by the institution to (1) enhance a program’s quality and reputation and/or (2) meet specific licensing or hiring requirements set by state laws or employers.

HLC’s Student Guide: Questions to Ask About Accreditation

It’s important to understand your college or university’s accreditation to be sure your education meets licensure, employer or other requirements. Learn what questions to ask about accreditation in HLC’s Student Guide.

Explore the Guide

How HLC’s Processes Work

HLC regularly evaluates our member institutions to ensure quality education for students. We conduct different types of reviews to evaluate certain aspects of an institution. In general, each review process includes the following steps.

Evaluation

Accreditation is based on a system of peer review. Our volunteer reviewers come from higher education institutions across the country. They evaluate an institution’s ability to meet HLC requirements. Peer reviewers make recommendations to HLC’s decision-making bodies based on their findings. The goal is to ensure that the institution is making continuous improvement that benefits students.

Decision Making

HLC’s decision-making bodies evaluate and take action on institutional reviews based on peer reviewer recommendations. You can learn more about HLC’s decision-making bodies and their work at Decision-Making Bodies and Processes.

Public Information

HLC publishes actions taken by decision-making bodies and staff in our Directory of Institutions and at Accreditation Actions. For certain types of actions, HLC publishes Public Disclosure Notices that describe the action taken, its impact on students, and any next steps in the process, if applicable.

Student Involvement

Student voices and participation are vital to the work we do — and students are encouraged to be involved in the accreditation process.

Campus Visits

Students may be invited by their institution to attend and speak on issues during an on-site visit by HLC peer reviewers.

Upcoming Campus Visits

Student Opinion Survey

Prior to an institution’s comprehensive evaluation, a survey is sent to its entire student body so that students can share their opinions with the review team.

Survey Process

Comments

Students may submit comments about an institution at any time. The comments will be considered during the institution’s next comprehensive evaluation.

Submit a Comment

Complaints

Students may file a complaint whenever there are concerns regarding an institution’s ongoing ability to meet HLC requirements.

File a Complaint

Frequently Asked Questions

About Accreditation

Accreditors develop their own standards, or criteria for accreditation, and regularly conduct evaluations to assess whether those criteria are being met. Institutions and/or programs that meet an accreditor’s criteria may become “accredited” after a process of evaluation called “candidacy.”

Accreditation provides current and potential students assurance that they are receiving a quality education which will be recognized as such by potential employers or licensing boards as well as by other colleges or universities in case of student transfers or pursuit of a higher degree. Also, employer-paid tuition reimbursement programs often require that employee participants enroll in accredited institutions.

Additionally, the U.S. Department of Education recognizes accreditation as a marker to allow the institution to disperse federal (Title IV) student financial aid.

There are institutional accrediting agencies, such as HLC, that look at the college or university as a whole. And there are programmatic or specialized accrediting agencies that focus only on specific academic programs. Colleges and universities can have multiple accreditations. The U.S. Department of Education has a list of recognized accrediting agencies.

For many years, HLC was recognized as a regional accreditor by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE). However, in 2020 the USDE removed the distinction between regional and national accreditors, and now categorizes both types of agencies as institutional accreditors. The USDE also removed the limitation on regional accreditors’ geographic scope. As a result, HLC today is recognized as an institutional accreditor with authority to accredit colleges and universities throughout the United States.

HLC is a private not-for-profit company that is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as an institutional accrediting agency. Higher education is overseen by the “Triad,” which is made up of an accrediting body such as HLC, a state’s higher education regulatory agency and the U.S. Department of Education, each with a distinct role in higher education oversight.

For Students

The HLC website provides a search tool to find institutions accredited by HLC, including formerly accredited or closed colleges and universities. An additional institutional directory tool, especially if the accrediting agency is unknown, can be found on the U.S. Department of Education website.

HLC can provide an official letter to verify past or current accreditation for any HLC member college or university. Request a letter by contacting [email protected].

No. During the candidacy stage, a college or university is not accredited. The institution has to demonstrate through its candidacy period that it meets HLC’s Criteria for Accreditation. Then the institution may become accredited.

HLC policy does not allow for retroactive accreditation of a college or university.

A course completed, or a degree earned, from an accredited institution remains accredited regardless of what happens to the institution at a later date. HLC’s Directory of Institutions includes all colleges and universities that have held status with HLC, so past accreditation dates can be verified.

HLC does not handle or keep any college transcripts. However, a college’s records, including transcripts, are generally kept and maintained after a closure. State agencies handling higher education matters are generally the best place to go when seeking information on closed schools and their records.

An institution’s accreditation will generally encompass all methods of delivery, though approval is sometimes needed before an institution can offer distance education.

Each institution determines its own policies and procedures for accepting transfer credits. HLC expects institutions to have clear policies on transfer of credit. Questions about the transferability of credits should be directed to the institution that the student is interested in attending.

A college or university that is on sanction is still accredited. In most cases, other colleges and universities will continue to accept the institution’s credits in transfer or for admission to a degree program while it is on a sanction. However, all colleges and universities define their own transfer and admission policies. So, students interested in pursuing another degree or transferring should contact the college or university they plan to attend so that they are knowledgeable about their admission and transfer policies.

The Higher Learning Commission does not rank or categorize schools. HLC evaluates an entire educational institution in terms of its mission and our Criteria for Accreditation. Besides assessing formal educational activities, it evaluates such things as governance and administration, financial stability, admissions and student services, institutional resources, student learning, institutional effectiveness, and relationships with internal and external constituencies.

Institutions set their own rules regarding faculty qualifications. However, HLC does have guidelines regarding faculty-teaching requirements. These guidelines apply to all faculty members whose primary responsibility is teaching, including part-time, adjunct, dual credit, temporary and/or non-tenure-track faculty.

HLC expects dual-credit courses to offer college-level work. While it is up to the institution itself to determine qualifications for dual-credit teaching, HLC provides guidelines regarding dual credit courses and programs.

Questions regarding licensure should be directed to the agency or state that would be granting a professional license.

HLC is not able to provide recommendations to students. A directory of HLC’s member institutions is available.

The U.S. Department of Education publishes a College Scorecard, which allows students to search and compare colleges.

Questions?

[email protected]