2023 Advocacy Agenda
The 2023 HLC advocacy agenda provides a voice for HLC’s strategic directions on higher education issues at the federal and state levels. HLC is committed to representing its member institutions through thought leadership. This commitment extends to providing input on all relevant legislative-, executive-, and judicial-branch issues as they pertain to HLC, accreditation and higher education.
HLC is recognized by and operates under regulations promulgated by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) from the Higher Education Act (HEA), which is authorized by Congress. Therefore, the advocacy agenda primarily addresses HEA issues and the resulting federal regulations for accreditors. The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), a national association of degree-granting colleges and universities and accreditation advocate, also recognizes HLC as an effective accreditor advancing academic quality. HLC is also a member of the Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions (C-RAC). As a member, HLC is also committed to C-RAC’s advocacy positions and agenda.
The HLC strategic plan identifies the guiding framework and action steps that HLC will pursue for the next five years. It is organized around six strategic directions referred to as EVOLVE: Equity, Vision, Outcomes, Leadership, Value and Engagement. The advocacy agenda is derived from EVOLVE and, at the same time, supports it. HLC’s advocacy positions align with each strategic direction of EVOLVE. HLC will work toward the realization of the strategic directions of EVOLVE, in part, by using this advocacy agenda for the improvement and sustainability of a strong system of higher education.
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The role of equity in accreditation and quality assurance is critical. HLC is committed to fairness, quality, access and opportunity for all students and maintaining a diversity of missions across institutions.
HLC will advocate for:
- A student- and institution-driven approach to quality assurance of higher education that considers each institution’s mission, stakeholders, history, and context by using measures for the full array of student success outcomes driven by accreditors.
- The open access agenda to ensure it is not compromised.
- Removing any inequities in legislation or regulations as they are identified, while at the same time supporting legislation that enhances minority serving institutions and the physical, mental, and financial wellbeing of their students.
- Increased access to broadband services.
HLC will drive the course of the changing accreditation landscape and its critical role in the dynamic higher education ecosystem.
HLC will advocate for:
- The common good through quality assurance of higher education in service to students and member institutions in an equitable, transformative, and trusted way.
- Student financial aid reform to support innovation and new business development opportunities in accreditation and higher education that increase quality learning opportunities in accreditation and higher education for students, including those opportunities offered through nontraditional providers and credentials.
- Flexibility for innovative practices and emerging education models that occur because of unforeseen crises, state reductions in funding, or new ways of transforming higher education.
- Various approaches to differential accreditation - standards attentive to the interests, needs, aspirations and constraints of the sector in which an institution operates.
HLC underscores its commitment to quality improvement and outcomes through criteria that call for evidence-based institutional commitment to goals, infrastructure, support services, strategies, assessment, and evaluation to support student learning and success with an enhanced focus on clarity, transparency, collaboration, innovation, and sensitivity to institutional context.
HLC will advocate for:
- The exploration of alternative measures of student success appropriate to institutional context and each student’s intent that go beyond categories of enrollment status and degree- or certificate-seeking found in HEA and improved national data tracking and exchange among agencies and organizations.
- Quality assurance credibility for student-centric transfer practices that reduce loss of credit, time, and money.
- The inclusion of non-traditional collaborators in accreditation, such as businesses and non-profit organizations, to provide insight into credentials, including micro-credentials, and their outcomes in the workforce.
- Improved coordination of the handling of institutional complaints among accreditors, the states and the U.S. Department of Education.
HLC will be a thought leader in higher education – which is undergoing an unprecedented level of public scrutiny – with the goal to restore confidence in higher education.
HLC will advocate for:
- The need to address key leadership issues and process improvements including those related to student success and institutional effectiveness.
- State-based reciprocity efforts regarding oversight of institutions providing distance education in more than one state.
- Additional mechanisms in HEA and federal regulations that allow for experimentation by accreditors and institutions to increase quality choices in higher education for students.
- Measures that increase postsecondary affordability and reduce debt for students.
HLC will assure the importance of accreditation and quality assurance for the public and its value as a lifelong return on investment for students in the workforce and society.
HLC will advocate for:
- A more complete understanding of student success to focus all stakeholders on the workforce, civic, social and other benefits of higher education.
- Students’ interests through HLC’s and other consumer protection policies.
- The rigor, consistency, and value of the voluntary peer review process.
- Helpful, clear, and transparent information for students and the public about accreditation, institutions, financial aid, and other aspects of higher education to assure integrity before, during, and after the higher education experience.
As an integral part of the higher education ecosystem, HLC sees opportunities for engagement with member institutions, governmental bodies, students, and other stakeholders. Engagement includes outreach efforts, advocacy and civic engagement.
HLC will advocate for:
- Academic freedom relating to all matters of teaching and learning.
- Adequate resources to support student learning and outcomes including regular and stable federal and state budget allocations and new funding to support institutions and students during crises.
- Expanding and strengthening collaboration with the Triad (state agencies/systems, federal government, and institutional/programmatic accreditors), K-12, and associations to improve access and attainment, outcomes data alignment, oversight efficiencies, definitions of student success/intent, and other areas of shared interest.
- State and federal support for dual credit instructors to become appropriately qualified to teach at the college level.
- Civic engagement not only as an accreditation standard, but also as a commitment to national dialogues on higher education and the public good.
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