Staff Campus Visits

A Staff Campus Visit is an optional, non-evaluative event during which an institution’s HLC staff liaison visits a main campus in response to an invitation issued by an institutional representative who has been specifically authorized to do so by the President.

Hosting a Staff Campus Visit is an institution’s choice and has no bearing on the outcomes of an institution’s pending evaluations, or any of HLC’s procedural decisions concerning the institution.

Purposes of a Staff Campus Visit

An institution may, based on a determination of its own needs, invite its liaison on a Staff Campus Visit for reasons that may include (but not be limited to):

  • Interacting with a broad range of internal constituents beyond the senior leadership.
  • Providing general guidance in anticipation of a pending evaluation (within two years).
  • Providing an explanation of HLC expectations informed by the institution’s particular circumstances.
  • Providing general guidance or further clarification following a sanction-related decision by HLC’s Board of Trustees.

A Staff Campus Visit is not intended to serve any of the following purposes:

  • Providing a mock evaluation in preparation for an evaluative visit.
  • Providing a substitute for professional consulting by a third party.
  • Providing assistance with drafting, editing, proofreading or otherwise providing detailed feedback on documents intended to be key deliverables in a pending evaluation.
  • Serving purely as an introduction among institutional administration and the staff liaison.

Initiating a Staff Campus Visit

An institutional representative specifically authorized by his or her president may invite the institution’s liaison on a Staff Campus Visit. Invites should be issued six weeks in advance of a visit.

Staff Campus Visits are scheduled at a time that is mutually convenient to the liaison and the institution. On occasion, depending on competing priorities, the liaison may not be able to accommodate a visit on the dates requested. In such cases, arrangements will be made for alternative dates.

Format of a Staff Campus Visit

A Staff Campus Visit is typically five to seven hours of face-to-face meeting time with appropriate breaks. The institution crafts the agenda for the visit in collaboration with the liaison and may choose to include a combination of meetings with senior leadership, steering committees and/or smaller groups to discuss specific issues relevant to the institution’s status. The institution may also request a formal, customized presentation to a larger audience. In such cases, the institution ensures appropriate audiovisual equipment is available.

Travel Logistics

Generally, the liaison makes his or her travel arrangements (although institutions may be asked to assist with hotel recommendations or airport transportation). Unless travel itineraries can comfortably accommodate a day trip, the liaison typically arrives in the destination city the evening before the visit. The liaison may use the evening prior to the visit to complete work for the day or finalize his or her preparations for the visit. The liaison may also choose, at his or her sole discretion, to accommodate face-to-face interactions with institutional representatives.

Fees

HLC assesses a standard fee for Staff Campus Visits, in addition to the liaison’s travel expenses. Institutions should refer to the Dues and Fees Schedule for current fees.

While making reasonable efforts to control costs to institutions, the liaison balances the efficacy of their travel arrangements with their work responsibilities.

Alternatives to a Staff Campus Visit

Although every effort will be made to accommodate requests for Staff Campus Visits, there are other options for interacting with a staff liaison. As institutions consider their needs, purposes and goals, the following options are available:

Any of the above options can provide for robust interaction while minimizing costs to institutions.

Gifts

Staff Campus Visits fall within the range of responsibilities performed by an HLC staff liaison. As such, gifts from institutions are discouraged.

Questions?

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