Certificate Program Screening Form | Accreditation

Higher Learning Commission

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Certificate Program Screening Form

Institutions should complete this form for any new certificate or diploma program to determine if prior HLC approval is required. HLC-accredited and candidate institutions are required to seek prior approval for credit-bearing certificate programs in which 50% or more of the courses were developed for the program and not derived from courses in existing academic programs.

Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any questions.

First name:(*)

First name required

Last name:(*)

Last name required

Email address:(*)

Valid email address required

Confirm email address:(*)

Email address must match address provided above

Institution Name:(*)

Select your institution from the list provided

2020 CIP code and program name:(*)

Selection required

Program name as it appears in the institution’s course catalog:(*)

Provide a course catalog name for the certificate program

Credential level:(*)

Credential level required

Total credit hours: (*)
Note: Please only enter a whole number value. Do not enter decimal numbers, a range of values, or any labels or explanation.

Total credit hours required (must be a whole number)

Are the courses in the certificate program credit-bearing?(*)

Yes
No Response required

Is the certificate program a competency-based education (CBE) program?

This would include credit-based, direct assessment or hybrid CBE programs.

Yes
No Response required

Please select the type of CBE approach the certificate program uses.(*)

Direct assessment
Hybrid direct assessment
Credit-based Response required

Has HLC approved the institution to offer credit-based CBE programs without seeking prior approval from HLC?

This information can be found in the Institutional Status and Requirements Report. The institution's stipulation must be “Approved for credit-based competency-based education.”(*)

Yes
No Response required

Is at least 50% of the requested certificate program made up of existing courses, or is the program a subset of an existing degree program?(*)

Yes, one or both of these conditions apply.
No, neither of these apply. Selection required

How will the certificate program be offered? Select all that apply. (See HLC’s Glossary for definitions of distance and correspondence education.)(*)

On-ground instruction
Distance education
Correspondence education Please select where the certificate program will be offered

Has the institution outsourced a portion of the program to an entity not accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education?(*)

Yes
No Response required

HLC does not review and approve non-credit offerings. Click “Submit” to complete this form. You will be sent an email from HLC indicating that individual approval is not required for this certificate program.

An institution must seek prior HLC approval for every direct assessment program and hybrid program, as well as every concentration (or any subset) of each direct assessment program that it intends to initiate. Please complete and submit a competency-based education program application instead of the certificate application.

An institution must seek prior approval for its first two credit-based CBE programs. (Note: credit-based CBE programs that were offered prior to May 1, 2015, and are included in the institution’s approvals do not count toward the first two programs approvals.) Please complete and submit a competency-based education program application instead of the certificate application.

HLC does not review and individually approve certificate programs that are mostly made up of existing courses or that are a subset of existing programs. Click “Submit” to complete this form. You will be sent an email from HLC indicating that individual approval is not required for this certificate program.

Click below to verify you are not a robot:(*)

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Important: After clicking “Submit,” a message describing any required next steps will be sent to the email address provided above. If you do not receive the email, please contact HLC at changerequest@hlcommission.org.

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Higher Learning Commission

About Us

HLC accredits colleges and universities in the United States.

Who We Are

Resources

HLC Online Systems

February 2024 Updates

Browse Policies

Publications

Higher Education Initiatives

Process Events

Elective Programs

Outreach to HLC

Accreditation Reviews