Providing Evidence for the Revised Criteria

HLC has published an updated version of Providing Evidence for the Criteria for Accreditation that addresses the revised Criteria for Accreditation. The document provides guidance and examples of evidence institutions can use to demonstrate that they have met revised Criteria.  

The updated Providing Evidence document reflects feedback from Accreditation Liaison Officers and peer reviewers who participated in a working group in the spring. We appreciate the time and energy these individuals contributed to the process to help HLC improve this resource for our entire membership. 

Based on their input, HLC made the following changes: 

• Updated the examples of evidence to reflect the revised Criteria for Accreditation. The examples also incorporate topics addressed in the subcomponents of the current Criteria that were removed from the revised Criteria. 
• Identified common types of evidence provided by institutions, regardless of sector or mission. These include a mission statement, academic catalog, strategic plan, meeting minutes from decision-making groups, and other types of evidence.  
• Clarified HLC guidance on how institutions may approach the process of identifying evidence and emphasized that the purpose of this document is to provide a starting point for institutions and peer reviewers. It is not a checklist of required evidence to include in the Assurance Filing. Instead, we encourage institutions to provide evidence that is relevant and persuasive within the context of the institution’s mission, student population, and institutional type and sufficient to demonstrating its compliance with the Criteria. 

HLC will continue to refine the Providing Evidence document as needed based on feedback from institutions and peer reviewers. 

Other Resources on the Revised Criteria 

In October, HLC will release recorded webinars on each revised Criterion that describe their content, context and intent. We will also hold a live Q&A on the revised Criteria with an HLC staff liaison. Subscribe to our mailing list to be notified when the recorded webinars are available and registration is open for the Q&A. 

Additional resources on the revised Criteria include: 

• Revised Criteria for Accreditation and Assumed Practices: Overview and Timeline 
• Crosswalk Between the Revised and Current Criteria 
• Definitions of new terms in the revised Criteria