Innovation
Accreditation provides opportunities for assurance and improvement. Whether through our accreditation processes or our member benefits, HLC is built on access to the opportunity of innovation.
Integrating Industry Certifications into Associate Degrees
Materials to Support Skills-Based Career Pathways
As employers prioritize skills-based hiring, community colleges are finding ways to bridge the gap between education and career readiness. A new resource collection from ANSI-affiliate Workcred, the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), and the League for Innovation in the Community College (League for Innovation) demonstrates how these institutions can successfully prepare students for living-wage careers through pathways that integrate associate degrees and industry certifications.
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Four colleges—the Community College of Aurora, Kirkwood Community College, Delta College, and Moraine Valley Community College—developed and implemented C+D pathways in information technology and health science programs while establishing sustainable, cost-effective processes that other institutions can adapt and scale.
The resource collection is available here:
- Building Credentialing Pathways Using Credit for Prior Learning: A Case Study about Delta College
- Creating Credentialing Pathways in Behavioral Health: A Case Study about the Community College of Aurora
- Designing Credentialing Pathways in IT: A Case Study about Kirkwood Community College
- Medical Coding and Health Information Technology Pathways: A Case Study about Moraine Valley Community College
- How Certification Bodies Can Support Colleges’ Efforts to Integrate Certifications into Academic Programs
- Playbook for Certification + Degree Pathways
- Promising Practices: Certification Plus Degree Pathways
Reduced-Credit Bachelor’s Degrees
As a partner to propel, HLC continues to work with institutions to provide students with quality educational programs in innovative ways. If an institution is considering offering a reduced-credit bachelor’s program, it will submit a substantive change application regarding that reduced-credit program. 
Credential Lab
HLC’s Credential Lab supports institutions and learners in navigating the vast field of microcredentials. We are designing a quality assurance system for microcredential providers, and developing resources for institutions and providers to ensure learning outcomes.
Quality Initiatives
The Quality Initiative, part of the quality assurance of the Open Pathway, is intended to allow member institutions to take risks, aim high and learn from only partial success or even failure.