Trends in Higher Education

2023 Trends in Higher Education (March 2023)

HLC compiles an annual list of higher education trends to inform its work to support member institutions and provide insight into the future of postsecondary education.

Prison Higher Education Programs

Postsecondary Education in Prison Programs and Accreditation—General Considerations for Peer Reviewers and Accreditors  
(October 2022)

HLC collaborated with the Vera Institute of Justice on this guidebook for accreditors and their peer reviewers, providing insight into the unique context and goals of postsecondary education in correctional facilities.

Equity

The Role of Equity in Quality Assurance (September 2022)

The HLC Peer Corps Committee on Diversity, provides recommendations to HLC on the role of equity in quality assurance: how institutions demonstrate alignment to standards and their stated mission and goals, measure and assess the commitment, and show progress and continuous improvement.

Equity in Access and Student Success Survey (2021)

HLC reports on the findings of a survey of its member institutions on equity in access and student success. Survey participants provided important insights into the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices currently taking place at their campuses, as well as practical strategies to address inequities among the communities that they serve.

HLC Membership by the Numbers

2022 Institutional Update Data (September 2022)

This report provides an overview of student enrollment, program completion, institutional workforce and financial resources of HLC member institutions. The report also puts these measures into historical and national context, in some ways revealing how the pandemic has impacted institutions since 2020.

Findings of the 2021 Member Survey (May 2022)

Institutional representatives and HLC peer reviewers provide feedback on the value of HLC membership, importance of HLC’s thought leadership and advocacy work, experience with HLC processes, engagement with HLC elective programs, and HLC outreach.

Key Findings of the Application of the Criteria for Accreditation (January 2022)

This retrospective analysis of comprehensive evaluations conducted in 2017–21 sheds light on the evolving nature of quality assurance, areas of challenge faced by institutions, as well as HLC’s efforts to continuously improve processes and strengthen support for the membership.

2021 Institutional Update Data (September 2021)

This analysis of student enrollment, program completion, workforce, and financial resources, drawn from the 2021 Institutional Update data, demonstrates the strength and resilience of HLC member institutions in times of crisis and disruptive challenges.

Innovation in Higher Education

Evolving: Accreditation and the Credential Landscape (April 2022)

Corporate leaders offer recommendations on the changing landscape of accreditation and quality assurance, as well as expectations of institutional transparency related to credentials and learner competencies.

Partners for Transformation: Innovation—Beyond the Horizon and the Future of Higher Education (April 2019)

Higher education thought leaders conceptualize 21st-century accrediting practices that assure quality in higher education and ultimately better benefit students in today’s world.

A Space to Innovate (November 2018)

Institutional representatives identify ways for HLC and its members to be more supportive of innovation.

Continuous Improvement of the Substantive Change Process (November 2018)

Institutional representatives offer suggestions for streamlining HLC's substantive change process, while assuring increased transparency and objectivity for decisions made.

Dual Credit in U.S. Higher Education: A Study of State Policy and Quality Assurance Practices (February 2013)

A descriptive analysis of current dual credit policies across the United States with implications for assuring the quality of dual credit courses that are offered by accredited postsecondary institutions.

Student Success

Partnership With the National Student Clearinghouse

Growing With Data: A Partnership With the National Student Clearinghouse (September 2022)

HLC presents the findings from the first phase of its data partnership with the National Student Clearinghouse, in which the Clearinghouse provided HLC with student outcome metrics reported by HLC member institutions in aggregate for use as existing HLC benchmarks.

Student Success Data Initiatives

Testing Student Success Data: Findings and Recommendations (March 2019)

A group of HLC member institutions present their findings and recommendations from research to test variables that affect student success.

Defining Student Success Data Paper Series

Representatives from HLC member institutions, national higher education organizations, state agencies and national data organizations identify ways in which HLC may contribute to the student success conversation.

• Recommendations for Changing the Conversation (December 2018)
• Recommendations for Differentiation for Disaggregation (January 2019)
• Recommendations for a Glossary of Terms (February 2019)

C-RAC Graduation Rate Survey (2016–2018)

The Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions (C-RAC) led a national initiative in 2016–18 to help institutions improve retention and completion rates.

HLC’s Graduation Rate Survey Findings (July 2017)

HLC presents its findings from a survey on how institutions track students’ academic outcomes, how they work to improve those outcomes, and the contexts affecting specific student populations.

C-RAC Graduation Rate Survey Summary Report (February 2018)

C-RAC summarizes the results of graduation rate surveys conducted by all regional accrediting agencies that participated in the national initiative.

Transfer of Credit and Teach-Outs

Teach-Out Toolkit (November 2020)

Institutional representatives and representatives from higher education state agencies who have been involved in teach-out situations provide guidance and tools to help institutions prepare for and implement successful teach outs.

A New Look at Transfer Admissions (July 2021)

An HLC staff liaison and two institutional representatives explore scenarios when the sudden closure of a college prompted its former students to inquire at other institutions in the area about continuing their studies as transfer students. They offer a rich and candid look at how institutions may provide transfer applicants with both admission and posting of a significant number of transferred credits.

A State Perspective on Consumer Protection in the Changing Higher Education Landscape: Practical Steps and Recommendations in Cases of Institutional Closure (September 2019)

Representatives from the Illinois Board of Higher Education provide insight into the work the Board has undertaken to support affected students and other stakeholders when a postsecondary institution closes.