Accreditation Liaison Officers, Chief Executive Officers and Data Update Coordinators should submit changes to the primary HLC contacts at their institution through the Contact Update Survey. This survey is available in Canopy at all times.

Important: After editing your contacts, be sure to complete and submit the survey. HLC cannot process your changes unless the survey is submitted. See the Review and Submit instructions below. Incomplete surveys will be deleted after 30 days.

Roles Included in the Contact Update Survey

The Contact Update Survey allows ALOs, CEOs and Data Update Coordinators to provide contact information for the following roles:

• Chief Executive Officer
• Chief Academic Officer*
• Chief Financial Officer
• Accreditation Liaison Officer
• Data Update Coordinator
• Location Coordinator
• Primary Assurance System Coordinator*

Definitions of these roles can be found in HLC's Glossary.

* Chief Academic Officers and Primary Assurance System Coordinators do not have access to Canopy. Individuals in all other roles have access to the system.

Navigating to the Contact Update Survey

The Contact Update Survey is only visible in Canopy to Accreditation Liaison Officers, Chief Executive Officers and Data Update Coordinators.

After logging into Canopy, links to the Contact Update Survey will be available on the institutional dashboard and the main menu:

• On the dashboard, click the “Update Contacts” link in the Quick Links box or, if applicable, the Task list. (Note: to return to the dashboard from anywhere in the system, click the Canopy logo in the top left corner.)
• In the main menu, click “Institution” and then select “Update Contacts.”

These links will bring you to the main screen of the survey. You will need to complete each of the three survey sections, listed in the left navigation bar and below the instructions in the main body of the page. Icons next to each section title will indicate your progress in completing each section:

New/not started

In progress or saved as draft

Completed

Contact Roles

Important: After editing your contacts, be sure to complete and submit the survey. HLC cannot process your changes unless the survey is submitted. See the Review and Submit instructions below. Incomplete surveys will be deleted after 30 days.

Click “Contact Roles” in the left navigation bar or on the survey main screen to open this section.

The section page lists the active contacts in the following roles:

• Chief Executive Officer
• Chief Academic Officer
• Chief Financial Officer
• Accreditation Liaison Officer
• Data Update Coordinator
• Location Coordinator
• Primary Assurance System Coordinator

Edit an Existing Contact

Take the following steps to edit a person’s existing record, such as their email address or title. If you are adding a new person to the role, see Add a New Contact below.

1. Click the pencil icon next to the person's contact record.

   

2. In the dialog box that appears, select “I am editing an existing contact.”

   

3. Update the necessary information, following the instructions on the edit screen. Note that a response is required for all fields with an asterisk (*).

   

4. Choose one of the options at the bottom of the screen to save your work:
   • "Save as Draft:” This option will allow you to save the entered information without completing all required fields.
     
     Note: Clicking this button will bring you back to the Contact Roles section page, and the section will be marked as “in progress.” The record will be highlighted in tan on the section page. You will need to return to this role and enter any missing information in order to mark the section as completed.

     

   • "Save" or “Save & Continue:” Choose either of these options when you have entered all the required information on the edit screen. “Save” will return you to the section page. "Save & Continue" will bring you to the Confirmation of Authorization section.
     
     If you click “Save” or “Save & Continue” without completing all the required fields, the form will display an error message.

     

After you save changes to a role, it will be highlighted in pink on the Contact Roles page.

Add a New Contact

If a new individual is entered in a role that has access to Canopy, that person will be given access to the system on their indicated start date. The Canopy account for the previous person in that role will be deactivated at the end of the day before that start date. Roles with access to Canopy include the ALO, CEO, CFO, Data Update Coordinator and Location Coordinator. CAOs and Assurance System Coordinators do not have access to Canopy.

To add a new person in a role:

1. Click “Add Row” under the list of contacts on the Contact Roles section page.
2. Enter the new contact’s information. Note that all fields with an asterisk (*) are required.
3. Choose one of the options at the bottom of the screen to save your work:
   • "Save as Draft:” This option will allow you to save the entered information without completing all required fields. Clicking this button will bring you back to the Contact Roles section page. You will need to return to this role and enter any missing information in order to mark the section as completed.
   • "Save" or “Save & Continue:” Choose either of these options when you have entered all the required information on the edit screen. Clicking “Save” will return you to the section page. "Save & Continue" will bring you to the Confirmation of Authorization section.
     
     If you click “Save” or “Save & Continue” without completing all the required fields, the form will display an error message.
4. Do not edit the record for the previous contact. When you submit the Contact Update survey and it is approved by HLC, the system will automatically set an end date for the previous contact and remove their record from Canopy on the new contact’s start date.

After you save the new contact information, their record will be highlighted in blue on the Contact Roles section page. Click the pencil icon to edit the contact record, or the trash icon to delete the record. You will be able to delete the record until the new contact’s start date.

Confirmation of Authorization

To complete this section:

1. Click “Edit” in the Confirmation box.

   

2. Check the box next to “I confirm that I am authorized to make these changes.”
3. Click “Mark as Completed” or “Review and Submit” to close the edit screen.
   • “Mark as Completed” will bring you back to the Confirmation of Authorization section page.
   • “Review and Submit” will take you to the Review and Submit page.

Review and Submit

The last section of the survey asks you to review the Contact Roles and Confirmation of Authorization sections to ensure all the required information has been provided and the survey is complete.

If there are required questions with missing answers, you will not be able to submit the form and you will be prompted to answer those questions.

If all the required questions have been answered:

1. Check the box at the bottom of the page to confirm the information is accurate.

   

2. Click the “Submit” button to complete the survey. The system will display a message saying your information has been successfully submitted.

   

If “Update Contacts” had been listed in your “My Tasks” section of the institutional dashboard, that task will be marked as completed after you submit the survey. You can view a record of it in your completed tasks list.

HLC Review and Approval

HLC staff will review and approve all changes to institutional contacts. After the Contact Update Survey had been submitted, it may not be edited again until HLC has processed the previous update.

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