Quality Initiatives

Institutions on the Open Pathway design and implement projects — referred to as Quality Initiatives — to improve aspects of their organization or pursue strategic initiatives. Quality Initiatives are intended to allow institutions to take risks, aim high and learn from only partial success or even failure.

There are two types of Quality Initiatives that institutions on the Open Pathway may complete during the 10-year accreditation cycle: a Student Success Quality Initiative and an Open Quality Initiative.

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Student Success Quality Initiative Open Quality Initiative

Student Success Quality Initiative

Effective September 1, 2025, policy changes adopted by HLC’s Board of Trustees established an option for eligible institutions on the Open Pathway to choose to complete a Quality Initiative focused on student success during Years 1–4 of the accreditation cycle in lieu of the mid-cycle Assurance Review in Year 4.

The Student Success Quality Initiative option is available to eligible institutions that complete a Year 10 comprehensive evaluation for reaffirmation of accreditation on or after September 1, 2025. An eligible institution would be able to choose the option to conduct a Student Success Quality Initiative at the same time that it selects its Pathway for its next accreditation cycle, following its Year 10 comprehensive evaluation for reaffirmation.

Documents and Forms

Quality Initiative Procedure

Institutional Templates

Peer Review Forms

Eligibility for the Student Success Quality Initiative

An institution would be eligible to choose to complete a Student Success Quality Initiative, rather than participate in a mid-cycle Assurance Review, if it meets the following conditions:

  1. The institution has not been placed on Notice by HLC within the past 10 years.
  2. The institution is not assigned any monitoring following its comprehensive evaluation for reaffirmation of accreditation in Year 10 of its previous accreditation cycle.
  3. The institution is deemed eligible to choose between the Standard Pathway and the Open Pathway and selects the Open Pathway.
  4. The institution is not otherwise deemed ineligible to choose to complete a Student Success Quality Initiative.

Note: An institution that opts to complete a Student Success Quality Initiative may lose its eligibility for that option if it is assigned a new interim report during Years 1–2 of its accreditation cycle. In that scenario, HLC will require the institution to undergo an Assurance Review in Year 4.

Designing a Student Success Quality Initiative

An institution that chooses to complete a Student Success Quality Initiative must focus its initiative on student success. An institution may choose to participate in HLC’s Student Success Academy as its Student Success Quality Initiative.

Quality Initiative projects may be designed to begin and be completed during the designated timeframe, or an institution may continue a project that is already in progress or achieve a key milestone in the work of a longer initiative.

Student Success Academy Participation

If an institution chooses to participate in HLC’s Student Success Academy as its Student Success Quality Initiative, the institution must still submit a Quality Initiative Proposal and Report for review using the templates provided above.

HLC typically accepts Academy applications between March and June each year, and institutions begin the program in the fall. If an institution is considering participating in the Student Success Academy for its Student Success Quality Initiative, please contact [email protected] for information on coordinating the institution’s Academy participation with the deadlines for the Quality Initiative Proposal and Report.

Open Quality Initiative

All Open Pathway institutions complete a required Open Quality Initiative on a topic of their choosing during Years 5–9 of the accreditation cycle.

Documents and Forms

Quality Initiative Procedure

Institutional Templates

Peer Review Forms

Designing an Open Quality Initiative

Quality Initiative projects may be designed to begin and be completed during the designated timeframe, or an institution may continue a project that is already in progress or achieve a key milestone in the work of a longer initiative.

The Open Quality Initiative can take one of three forms:

  1. The institution designs and proposes its own Quality Initiative to suit its present concerns or aspirations. Note: An institution that conducted a Student Success Quality Initiative may choose to continue or expand on that foundational work in its Open Quality Initiative.
  2. The institution chooses an initiative from one of the following topics:
    • The institution undertakes a broad-based self-evaluation and reflection leading to revision or restatement of its mission, vision and goals.
    • The institution joins with a group of peer institutions, which it identifies, to develop a benchmarking process for broad institutional self-evaluation.
    • The institution undertakes a multi-year process to create systemic, comprehensive assessment and improvement of student learning.
    • A four-year institution joins with community colleges to create a program of dual admission, joint recruitment and coordinated curriculum and student support.
    • The institution pursues a strategic initiative to improve its financial position.
    • The institution pursues a campus action project or new partnership that promotes civic awareness, community change or service learning. (Institutions looking for resources related to civic engagement activities may want to reach out to the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U), American Political Science Association (APSA) or Campus Compact.)
  3. The institution chooses to participate in HLC’s Assessment Academy or Student Success Academy.

    Note: HLC typically accepts Academy applications between March and June each year, and institutions begin the program in the fall. If an institution is considering participating in an HLC Academy for its Open Quality Initiative, please contact [email protected] for information on coordinating the institution’s Academy participation with the deadlines for the Quality Initiative Proposal and Report. An institution that participates in an HLC Academy for its Open Quality Initiative completes the Academy application instead of the Open Quality Initiative Proposal template. Rather than submit the standard Open Quality Initiative Report template, the institution will also engage in a concluding Academy event and use a different template for its report.

Institutional Examples

See HLC’s 2025 Resource Guide for institutions that have recently completed a Quality Initiative and are open to share their experiences.

Most Common Topics for Open Quality Initiatives

  • Student success (including Foundations of Excellence by the Gardner Institute and focus on persistence and completion)
  • Assessment of student learning
  • Online/mobile learning (including Quality Matters)
  • Organizational planning
  • Unit or program review
  • Developing a quality culture
  • Cultural competency

Related Resources

Questions?

[email protected]