Notice

Notice is a public sanction that attaches to an institution’s accreditation status. The sanction of Notice is imposed based on an overall judgment that the institution is at risk of being out of compliance with the Criteria for Accreditation. It will be supported by at least one finding that an institution meets with concerns one or more Criteria for Accreditation. The determination is not based on any minimum number of such findings. An action to impose Notice is a final action not subject to appeal. 

In placing an institution on Notice the Board of Trustees will identify in the letter notifying the institution of the action the deficiencies at the institution that led to Notice. The letter will also specify a date for submission of a written report on the corrective measures taken by the institution during the Notice period and for a subsequent Notice evaluation. The written report must provide clear evidence that the institution has ameliorated the deficiencies that led to the Notice action and is no longer at risk for compliance issues. The Notice evaluation will determine whether claims made in the report are verifiable and demonstrate significant improvement in the deficient areas.  

The Notice period shall not exceed two years, commencing on the date of the Board’s action placing the institution on Notice until the date the Board determines whether the deficiencies that led to the institution being placed on Notice have been ameliorated. The filing of the report and the subsequent Notice evaluation will take place within this time period as established by the Board. The Board of Trustees may impose Notice at the end of Probation or Show-Cause if the institution has demonstrated compliance with the areas previously identified as non-compliant but remains at risk related to those areas of non-compliance or other deficiencies. 

If, at the end of the Notice period, the Board finds that the deficiencies leading to the Notice action have not been ameliorated, the Board may continue accreditation, withdraw accreditation or take other action as provided for in these policies. The Board may also extend Notice if the institution is making progress but has not completely ameliorated the conditions that led to the Notice. This extension will be available for an additional year if the institution was initially placed on Notice for one year or for an additional six months if the institution was initially placed on Notice for two years. At the time that it extends the Notice period, the Board will specify the process by which the institution will be required to provide evidence so that it is no longer at risk of being out of compliance with HLC requirements (i.e.—by providing a report or hosting a visit). The Board will act on any extension of Notice at the next regularly scheduled Board meeting after the extension of the Notice period has concluded. At that time the Board has the same options for action it had at the end of the initial Notice period, except that no further extension of Notice shall be available. 

Process for Imposing or Removing Notice 

Only the Board of Trustees, acting on the recommendation of any evaluation team, the Institutional Actions Council, or the President, shall take action placing an institution on Notice. A team recommendation to place an institution on Notice, other than one arising from an advisory visit process, will automatically be referred to an Institutional Actions Council Hearing Committee. The Board will consider both the team recommendation and Institutional Actions Council Hearing Committee recommendations in its deliberations. The President of HLC makes a recommendation for Notice resulting from an advisory visit process directly to the Board. In all cases, the Board of Trustees will act on a recommendation for Notice only if the institution’s chief executive officer has been given an opportunity of at least 14 days to place before the Board of Trustees a written response to the recommendation. 

At the end of an initial Notice period, the Board of Trustees will review the recommendation of any evaluation team and of an Institutional Actions Council Meeting Committee or Hearing Committee, as well as any responses filed by the institution. At the end of an extension to a Notice period, the Board of Trustees will review the recommendation of any evaluation panel or team, as well as any response filed by the institution. In taking action, the Board of Trustees may choose to accept, reject, or modify these recommendations.  

Pathways Assignment 

The Board shall reassign an institution to the Standard Pathway as may be necessary in the action that places the institution on Notice. The institution shall remain on the Standard Pathway until such time as it has reestablished its eligibility for a different pathway as determined by a comprehensive evaluation for reaffirmation of accreditation. 

Substantive Change During the Notice Period 

An institution on Notice may file one or more applications for substantive change during the Notice period. However, any application related to deficiencies identified in the Notice action will be subject to strict scrutiny and may be deferred by staff or by the Institutional Actions Council for consideration by HLC until after the Board has removed Notice, or the application may be denied. An approval of a substantive change for an institution on Notice is not indicative of a determination by HLC that an institution has corrected identified areas of deficiency. Under federal regulations, additional requirements for seeking prior approval for certain substantive changes apply specifically to institutions placed on Notice after July 1, 2020 as well as for three academic years following removal of such Notice. Such additional requirements may be found in HLC’s policies on substantive change (see INST.G.10.010 Substantive Change). 

An institution on Notice is not eligible for the Notification Program for Additional Locations and shall be suspended from that program by staff after being placed on Notice and for a period of three years thereafter. If the institution has been placed on Notice for issues related to the quality of the institution’s off-campus instruction or related issues, the institution shall be removed from that program by staff after being placed on Notice and for a period of three years thereafter. Additional information may be found in HLC’s policies on substantive change (see INST.G.10.020 Review of Substantive Change). 

Public Disclosure of Notice Actions 

A Public Disclosure Notice for an institution on Notice will be available on HLC’s website shortly after, but not more than one (1) business day after, HLC notifies the institution of the action imposing Notice. An institution on Notice must notify its Board members, administrators, faculty, staff, students, prospective students, and any other constituencies about the action in a timely manner not more than seven (7) business days after receiving the action letter from HLC; the notification must include information on how to contact HLC for further information; the institution must also disclose this status whenever it refers to its HLC accreditation. 

Notice Evaluation at the End of the Notice Period  

The Notice evaluation at the end of the Notice period will be conducted following HLC policies and procedures for routine monitoring. (See INST.F.10.010, Routine Monitoring and Data Collection.) 

Policy History

Last Revised: June 2023 
First Adopted: June 2000 
Revision History: February 2011, June 2012, February 2014, June 2017, November 2018, November 2019, June 2020, February 2022; June 2022, November 2022, June 2023 
Notes: Policies combined November 2012 – 2.5(a), 2.5(a)1, 2.5(a)2. In February 2021, references to the Higher Learning Commission as “the Commission” were replaced with the term “HLC.”