Accreditation Status and Stipulations
Transparency is a key tenant of HLC’s commitment to serving member institutions and their students. We ensure that each member institution’s accreditation status is publicly available and provide additional tools for institutions to communicate and keep track of their accreditation relationship.
Accreditation Status
An institution’s HLC status indicates whether the institution is accredited or a candidate for accreditation. If an accredited institution is on sanction, Administrative Probation or Show-Cause, or is undergoing certain Change of Control transactions, this information will also be included in its status.
Verify an Institution’s Accreditation Status
Students and the General Public
An institution’s status with HLC can be found:
- In HLC’s Directory of Institutions
- On the Mark of Accreditation Status on the institution’s website
Institutional Representatives
- Download your institution’s Institutional Status and Requirements Report in Canopy.
- Request an official letter from HLC to verify your institution’s accredited status, HLC’s approval of a particular program or location, or other aspects of the institution’s accreditation.
How to Communicate Your Institution’s Status With HLC
HLC provides tools and guidance to help institutions provide accurate information about their accreditation.
Important: HLC logos are reserved for HLC-produced materials. Except for the Mark of Accreditation Status code provided by HLC, institutions should not use HLC logos in their online or print communications.
Mark of Accreditation Status
Each member institution displays HLC’s Mark of Accreditation Status on its website using code supplied by HLC. The Mark is an easy way for institutions to ensure that they always communicate their current HLC status. The Mark displays the institution’s status and links visitors to the institution’s Statement of Accreditation Status in our Directory of Institutions.
An institution’s domain name must be registered with HLC to enable the Mark of Accreditation Status to display correctly. Contact [email protected] to request the Mark of Accreditation Status guidelines or to change the domain where the Mark is displayed.
Describing Your Institution’s Status
For accredited institutions:
Option 1:
Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.Option 2:
[Institution Name] is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (hlcommission.org), an institutional accreditor recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
For candidate institutions:
Option 1:
Candidate for accreditation with the Higher Learning Commission.Option 2:
[Institution Name] is a candidate for accreditation with the Higher Learning Commission (hlcommission.org), an institutional accreditor recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Describing Reaffirmation of HLC Accreditation
When an institution’s accreditation is reaffirmed by an HLC decision-making body, the institution may report that its accredited status has been continued. Be sure not to suggest that accreditation is granted for a certain period of time. Accreditation is a continuing relationship between the institution and HLC, without a set time period or expiration date.
Institutions Seeking HLC Membership
An institution is not an HLC member and does not have status with HLC until it is granted candidacy or initial accreditation. Institutions seeking HLC membership, either through the Eligibility Process or Accelerated Process for Initial Accreditation, may publicly disclose that they have submitted an application for HLC membership and provide a timeline for the process.
Stipulations
Stipulations describe certain approvals or limitations placed by HLC on an institution’s development of new programs or other activities. An institution’s stipulations are available in its Institutional Status and Requirements Report. Some information from the stipulations, such as an institution’s degree program levels, is also published in HLC’s Directory of Institutions.
Stipulation Categories
- Accreditation: provides detailed information regarding a voluntary resignation of HLC accreditation or candidacy, withdrawal of accreditation or candidacy, or Change of Control, Organization or Structure transaction
- Additional Location: indicates whether an institution has been approved to participate in HLC’s Notification Program for Additional Locations and, if so, at what level
- Competency-Based Education: lists the direct assessment and credit-based competency-based education programs that the institution is approved to offer
- Distance and Correspondence Education Courses and Programs: provides the level of approval an institution has to offer distance and correspondence education courses and programs
- General: lists the institution’s approved degree program levels and, if applicable, program limitations
- Pell-Eligible Prison Education Programs: lists the institution’s approvals to offer Pell-eligible prison education programs, including its approved programs, locations and modalities
- Status: for institutions on sanction or Show-Cause, references public information about those statuses
