Obtaining Accreditation

Institutions may be affiliated with the Commission by gaining accredited status or candidate status.

The Commission determines whether an educational institution is to be considered for accreditation through its Eligibility Process. The Eligibility Process involves four steps: initiating the process, moving forward with intent, submitting the Preliminary Information Form, and seeking affiliation. For additional information on the Eligibility Process and the process of accreditation, download the Handbook of Accreditation.

Disclaimer: The Handbook of Accreditation, Third Edition, was published in 2003.  Readers should review the new and revised policies in addition to the Handbook to ensure the most up-to-date information is being used.

Before initiating the Eligibility Process, the organization should make sure it can provide documentation that

• It falls within the Commission’s scope of service.
• Its governing board approves seeking affiliation with The Higher Learning Commission.
• It has a chief executive officer appointed by its governing board.
• It has a catalog available to current and prospective students.
• It has a financial base to support its mission. Appropriate documentation may include an audit, a letter of reference from a bank, or other financial documents that vouch for its solvency and capacity.

The Preliminary Information Form (PIF) is a document that lists each of the Eligibility Requirements and outlines the narrative and materials that an organization will need to provide in order to establish its ability to meet these requirements. The PIF packet is available from the Commission office for a small fee. Organizations should contact the Commission office for more information.

The Four Steps in the Eligibility Process

The Eligibility Process involves four steps. At the conclusion of each step, the organization is free to stop the process. The first three steps involve payment of a nonrefundable fee.

1. Initiating the process
   1. The organization submits a letter to the executive director requesting a formal eligibility interview.
   2. The organization participates in a formal interview in the Commission’s offices. At this interview, organizational representatives—usually including the chief executive officer and the chief academic officer—and Commission staff explore the organization’s readiness to begin the Eligibility Process. The organization is not required to complete the PIF prior to the interview, but the most effective interviews often involve the organization’s first efforts to create the document.
2. Moving forward with intent
   1. If and when the organization decides to continue the Eligibility Process, it files a letter of intent with the president. The letter must be filed within two years following the formal interview to continue the process.
   2. The organization works with the assigned staff liaison to complete the PIF. Usually the liaison interacts through e-mail or telephone, but he/she may, at the expense of the organization, make a campus visit. Staff consultation provides useful advice on how the Eligibility Requirements are usually interpreted and applied. Staff members, however, do not review or approve the PIF.
3. Submitting the PIF
   1. Within a year of filing the letter of intent, the organization submits three copies of the completed PIF (the form and all supporting documents).
   2. Two Eligibility Reviewers examine the documentation to determine whether the evidence appears to be strong enough to warrant scheduling a comprehensive visit. Eligibility Reviewers are experienced consultant-evaluators who have served in the Commission’s decision-making processes and who have received training to prepare them for their role in the Eligibility Process. In making the judgment, the Reviewers look to both the sufficiency and the weight of evidence presented to demonstrate that an Eligibility Requirement is met. Reviewers can determine that the organization should prepare a self-study report for a visit, that the organization should submit limited additional information to address portions of the PIF, or that the organization is not ready to pursue affiliation.
   3. The findings are reviewed by Commission staff and submitted to the organization by the president. They are also shared with the first evaluation team to visit the organization.
4. Seeking affiliation
   1. When an organization is informed that it should prepare a self-study for a visit or when it is asked to submit limited additional information, it should begin to follow the directions provided for the Commission’s Candidacy Program in preparation for seeking initial status.
   2. When an organization is informed that it is has been judged not ready to pursue affiliation, it must wait a year before reapplying for the Eligibility Process.

An organization that does not successfully complete its Eligibility Process can petition the Board of Trustees for a review if it can provide evidence that the Commission staff or Eligibility Reviewers departed from established procedures or inconsistently applied the screening measures. Involvement in the Eligibility Process does not constitute holding status with the Commission. Therefore, an organization should refrain from making public statements that imply such a relationship. Only formal Commission action taken at the conclusion of a comprehensive visit and review process establishes a formal status.

The Eligibility Requirements

An organization seeking initial affiliation with the Commission by either accredited status or candidate status will

1. Hold an appropriate legal status to operate as an organization offering higher learning in one of the states or sovereign nations within the North Central region, and have the legal authority to award higher education degrees and any other educational offerings wherever and however delivered
2. Publish and make available to students and the broader public a statement of mission approved by its governing board defining clearly the nature and purpose of the higher learning provided by the organization and the students for whom it is intended
3. Have students enrolled in its degree programs before achieving candidacy or have graduated students from its degree programs before achieving accreditation
4. Document governance and administrative structures that legally enable the organization to protect its institutional and educational integrity
5. Document that it has core values and strategic priorities that assure that its graduates will be capable of contributing to the communities in which they live and work
6. Demonstrate that it has engaged qualified academic personnel essential to assure effective curriculum, instruction, and academic programs
7. Demonstrate the ownership of or responsibility for assuring access to the learning resources and support services necessary to facilitate the learning expected of its enrolled students
8. Provide documentation of existing and future financial capacity
9. Provide students with electronic or print documents that outline educational program requirements appropriate in terms of length, content, and required learning outcomes for the credential awarded
10. Document that it presents itself to the public and prospective and enrolled students fairly and accurately, with up-to-date information published electronically or in print about credit transfer, costs and refunds, financial aid, and the accreditation status of the organization and its programs
11. Document that it provides its students, administrators, faculty, and staff with the policies and procedures informing them of their rights and responsibilities within the organization
12. Present evidence of ongoing planning that includes a realistic action plan for achieving accreditation with the Commission within the period of time set by Commission policy