By Barbara Gellman-Danley, HLC President 

Welcome to the new academic year. The first few weeks are very exciting as you bring in another class of students for experiences that will impact their lives forever. I have fond memories of serving donuts to Nursing students waiting in line to enroll in busy classes and helping students move into dormitories, while doing my best to assuage the fears of parents. For faculty, you are making a measurable difference in the lives of all learners. The Higher Learning Commission applauds your commitment to their success. 

We are all aware of the incredible speed of change over the past eight months. Our institutions and colleagues have been in the news, present at legislative hearings and lobbying for budget protections on behalf of higher education. While this is not uncommon, the pace of the dynamic shifts is shining a light on all that we do in our colleges, universities and accreditation. 

For the Higher Learning Commission, we recently introduced the Revised Criteria for Accreditation and other policy changes that became effective September 1. The revisions and innovative initiatives reflect input from our members, which will always be critically important to the foundational work at HLC.  

You may be wondering how we are handling the introduction of new accreditors and competition. Just fine! We welcome potential new accrediting organizations, while recognizing the work they are doing reflects often on a need for change. As a market responsive accreditor, we are already adapting with agility to the changes we are facing and find a “reflection in the mirror” of the thought leadership and service we have long provided at HLC. 

Several institutions are seeking accreditation with HLC, with some to be determined at the November board meeting. It is an exciting time, and I am personally very proud of the many positive comments provided by these institutions about HLC. You may find it interesting to know, we have heard a lot of comments about our “customer service,” innovation initiatives, and willingness to change based on significant stakeholder feedback. 

The work of HLC’s Credential Lab is proceeding on schedule, with an upcoming launch of both parts of our work in the fall. This includes an introduction of reviews for external providers outside (or working with) higher education. We will also begin in October our pilot work on the Credential Lab Innovation Center with a series of webinars, while we are concomitantly studying best practices and training for those entering or advancing short-term credentials and stackable options to degrees. A new part of our work will be to assess the non-credit to credit opportunities that likely exist on many campuses. It is a busy time. We appreciate the many people advising us and the outstanding support from Lumina Foundation and the ECMC Foundation. All this work will feed into our next strategic plan, North Star. 

As you move into this new fiscal year for your colleges and universities, recognize the importance of your missions to the future of your students, the communities you serve and the society at large. Hold your heads high as you navigate some challenging times. Know that the HLC staff and board members stand ready to be your partners as we all move forward to a strong future in higher education.